Many people seem to be interested in both carbs and healthy eating these days. A topic I often get asked is if vegetables contain carbohydrates. The answer is yes, they do.
Plants are made from starches, natural sugars, and fiber, meaning all veggies contain at least a small amount of carbohydrates.
Complex carbohydrates and fiber (yes, fiber is technically a carbohydrate substance), like the carbs found in veggies, do wonderful things for your body like help fight chronic disease, and help keep you full and energized.
Butter may not be a carb, but veggies certainly do contain them in varying amounts. As you can see, carb-rich foods do not necessarily equal unhealthy and vice versa.
It’s all about eating a plentiful amount of the healthful ones from plants (and less of those from added sugar or refined flours).
All vegetables have carbs but the content varies greatly, and is influenced by the water content of the plant. Leaves like lettuce and vegetables like cucumbers, are mostly water, and therefore low in carbohydrates. Tubers and root vegetables tend to be lower in water-content and higher in carbohydrates.
Some of the lowest-carb veggies include leafy greens and lettuce, radishes, sprouts, celery, bok choy, zucchini, tomatoes, cauliflower, summer squash, mushrooms, and Brussels sprouts.
Starchy vegetables, like potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, carrots, butternut squash, peas, corn (which is actually technically a grain) and beets. Legumes and beans, which are considered both vegetables and protein foods, are also high in carbs.
Many of these high-carb vegetables are also extraordinarily high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals, and are not to be avoided.
Balancing a variety of high and low carbohydrate vegetables into your diet not only brings you a variety of delicious flavors and textures, it’s also a major key to a healthful lifestyle.