It should come as no surprise that fruits & vegetables are healthier to eat than say, onions rings and Twinkies. But researchers who recently completed a 24 year study found that not all produce is created equal.
According to the New York Times, the study involved over 117,000 men and women in their 30s and 40s who were tested in four-year intervals. In the end, they found that in a lot of cases certain fruits and vegetables not only didn’t help participants stay at their best beach body—some of them actually contributed to weight gain.
As far as the worst culprits—potatoes, peas and corn were the ones that actually contributed to people’s weight gain when eaten a fair amount or in the absence of the others. Not surprising as anyone working in the Texas culinary arts knows that all those vegetables have a high starch and carbohydrate complex.
The best fruits and vegetables were the ones where researchers found a significant amount in weight loss. The fruits included berries, citrus fruits, tofu and apples and pears and the vegetables that they found to be best for weight loss were broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts as well as avocado.
In general, the most important news from the study was that an increased amount of fruits and vegetables in diets led to less weight gain. Turns out all those stories grandma told you about eating your fruits & veggies were true!