Floury

What are

Under the term farinaceous it is customary to group seeds, fruits and tubers rich in starch, from which - following milling or other production processes - a dry flour is obtained.

More generally, the term is extended to all foods and foodstuffs rich in starch, including foods such as bread, pasta, baked goods (biscuits, cakes), polenta and so on.

Nutritional aspects

Globally, starchy foods have been the staple food of the human species for millennia. Obviously, environmental conditions and popular traditions influence the choice of the starchy foods consumed; so, for example, wheat is typical of the Mediterranean populations, the oats of the North-European countries, the cassava of the arid developing countries and so on.

Given the extreme variability of the foods from which starch-rich flours are obtained, it is difficult to delineate the general nutritional characteristics of starchy foods, just as too widespread and simplistic is the widespread recommendation to moderate consumption. In fact, to the category of starchy foods belong, for example, also legumes, whose nutritional characteristics are very different from those of potatoes or wheat derivatives.

Even within the cereal family there are significant nutritional differences; for example, oats have a lower glycemic index than rice and wheat. It must be said, however, that in common language the Italians use the term farinaceous referring above all to cereals and their derivatives. It is no coincidence that the usefulness of moderating starchy foods and increasing the consumption of legumes is often discussed, in fact a contradiction when one considers the starchy richness of starchy foods such as beans, broad beans and lentils, from which high-quality flours can be obtained protein and low glycemic index.

Diabetes and Overweight

The recommendation to reduce, or otherwise moderate, the consumption of starchy foods is usually addressed to people with diabetes or overweight.

If the goal is to lose weight, special care must be taken not to consume the starchy foods in a meal very rich in lipids. In fact, in similar circumstances the high carbohydrate intake of starchy foods stimulates the secretion of insulin, which in turn promotes the storage of lipids in adipose tissue.

If the goal is to keep blood sugar under control, it is generally recommended to consume whole grain starchy foods. Alternatively, or in addition, these should be combined with foods rich in soluble fiber, such as legumes, apple and peel or oranges with albedo (white skin), in order to reduce the post-prandial glycemic peak.

Fibers and Glycemic Load

The parsimony in the consumption of starchy foods should be all the more rigorous the greater their degree of refining and cooking; overcooked white (polished) rice, for example, increases blood sugar to a much greater extent than a similar amount of al dente brown rice. The amount of carbohydrates, or more generally of starchy foods taken - translated into the concept of glycemic load - is a very important factor when it comes to diet and diabetes; in fact, just to cite an example, 30 grams of pasta determine a glycemic peak higher than 10 grams of glucose, despite the fact that the glycemic index of the paste is much lower (60 against 100 for glucose).