Enjoy fall vegetables, but skip the white potatoes

When choosing fall vegetables to bake, roast, or add to dishes, carrots, Brussel sprouts, parsnips, and most others —except for white potatoes — are a good choice, Vasanti Malik, a Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health research scientist in the Department of Nutrition, said in an Oct. 31, 2016 USA Today article.

“Potatoes we don’t consider a vegetable,” Malik said. Not only do they tend to raise blood glucose quickly, which may lead to weight gain over time, but they don’t keep you feeling full as long as other veggies, the article stated. Malik is not as concerned about sweet potatoes, which she said are slightly healthier than white potatoes, because they are less likely to be overeaten.

“Since most people’s [vegetable] intake is so low,” she said, “it’s important for people to choose the ones they’re going to enjoy — because then it’s more likely they’re going to continue to eat them.”