Starchy Vegetables List

Starch is a form of carbohydrates and is a symbol of man's dependence on vegetables for the purpose of obtaining energy. Plants store the energy in the form of starch which is made of a chain of glucose molecules. Primarily gastric amylase, in animals as well as in humans, is the enzyme that is involved in the process of digestion of starch obtained from vegetables. Digested starch or carbohydrates (i.e. energy) is stored by the animal cells, in the form of glycogen which is used by the muscles during an activity. Of course, there are other sources which are tapped by the man for the same purpose, but let's not get into that. There are some vegetables worth including in the starchy vegetables list, and that is what this article is about.

Carb Vegetables

Starchy vegetables are also called high carbohydrate or carb vegetables. The present trend is to be leaner and low carb vegetables are included in the diet to achieve the result. If you are trying to lose weight, the first advise you will get, is to stop eating potatoes. Why? Because it is one of the vegetables that contains starch or carbohydrates in abundance. The human body converts and stores, the unused carbohydrates or glucose as body fat.

Alternatively, if you want to put on extra pounds of weight on your thin body, starchy vegetables may help you do exactly that. If you want to make any changes in your diet, it is best to update your information about the nutritional value of vegetables, vegetables high in protein, vegetables high in fiber and vegetables high in iron. The best way to lose or gain weight is through exercising and eating a proper diet, both of which will help you lose or gain weight in the form of muscles. Exercises use the energy stored in the form of glycogen, which you can replenish by ingesting carbohydrates or starchy vegetables. The Glycemic Index (GI) chart gives information about the food items that contain simple or complex carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates are easily digestible and provide energy quicker than complex carbohydrates. The chart weighs food items on the scale of 0-100. The most easily digestible food item which contains glucose is rated as "100". Low score indicates that the food item contains complex carbohydrates and is slow to digest. The following table gives us a ready-to-use list of vegetable along with the percentage of carbohydrates, fats and proteins present in it, followed by the glycemic index of the vegetable.

High Carbohydrate Vegetables List

Vegetable	% of Carbohydrates	% of Fats	% of Proteins	Glycemic Index	Quantity
Beet, canned	90	3	7	64	246g
Black Beans, boiled	74	3	23	64	172g
Beet, cooked	71	6	23	30	144g
Beet, greens	71	6	23	64	144g
White Sweet Corn, raw	80	11	9	56	254g
Parsnips	91	4	5	97	178g
Potato New, boiled	93	1	6	59	78g
Potato Red, baked	88	2	10	93	299g
Sweet Potato	93	1	6	52	200g
White Potato, mashed	90	1	9	70	299g
Tomato, orange	72	10	18	50	158g
Tomato soup	84	8	8	38	121g
Yam	95	1	4	54	136g
Green Peas, soup	65	15	20	66	128g
Green Peas, frozen	72	4	24	47	134g
Peas, boiled	68	5	27	48	160g
Lima Beans, frozen	76	2	22	32	311g
Baked Beans, canned	79	3	18	48	253g
Kidney Beans, boiled	73	3	24	29	1 cup
Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas)	78	8	14	33	240g
Lima Beans	77	3	20	32	124g
Navy Beans	74	3	23	38	262g
Pinto Beans, canned	72	8	20	39	240g
Lentils, boiled	70	3	27	30	200g
Plantains, cooked	97	1	2	70	200g
Winter Acorn, baked	93	2	5	-	205g
Winter Butternut, boiled	93	2	5	51	205g

Although, botanically beans are considered as fruit vegetables, here, they are included in the list because of culinary purposes. In practice, apart from the vegetables presented here in the tabular form, a great variety of vegetables are consumed. These vegetables are as follows:

• Stem or stalk vegetables such as Asparagus, Cardoon, Celery, Fennel Fiddlehead, Kohlrabi also referred to as German turnip, Leek, Nopal, Prussian Asparagus, Rhubarb and Swiss Chard.
• Agar, Aonori, Arame, Carola, Dabberlocks (winged kelp), Dulse, Gim, Hijki, Irish Moss, Kelps, Kombu, Laver, Mozuku, Ogonori, Sea Grape, Seakale, Sea Lettuce, Sloke and Wakame are sea produce which we use as vegetables.
• Root vegetables such as Aphia, Arracacha, Arrowhead, and roots such as Arrow, Beet, Black Cumin, Broadleaf Arrowhead, Canna, Cassava, Chinese Artichoke, Daikon, Ensete, Gobo
• Horseradish and a variety of turnips: Turnip, Mexican Turnip and Prairie Turnip, Lotus Roots and Parsley which is used for salads.
• Radish and the plants with exotic names such as the Zoyster plant, Black Oyster plant, Ti plant (good luck plant) Japanese horseradish, Water chestnut, Yacon.
• Vegetables that have assumed the shape of flowers such as broccoli and cauliflower and fruit vegetables such as avocado, capsicum, eggplant, olives, snake gourd, watermelon. Zucchini provides carbohydrates in the form of starch along with the vegetables named above.
• Not all the above vegetables are true vegetables, but they are referred here in the culinary sense. I would like to add, bulb vegetables like the elephant garlic, onions or spring onions to this list.

Vegetables contains proteins, vitamins, minerals and fibers along with starch. Vitamins and minerals are useful in repairing the wear and tear of the body. The fibers present in these vegetables are useful for balancing the diet and avoiding constipation. There are occasions when we need to expend energy for intense activities that lasts for short time. In this case, what you need is, a vegetable from the list with high a GI score. On other occasions, we have to work for long hours, though the tempo of the activity is not intense, we still have to keep our energy level up. In this case, low carb vegetables with low GI scores from the list may help you stay energized. Although complex carbohydrates in these foodstuffs require time for digestion, they provide energy for a long period at a slow rate.