Should We Still Base Meals on Starchy Foods?

For years, official guidance encouraged people to base their meals on starchy foods—bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, and cereals—while promoting “five-a-day” fruit and vegetable targets. This advice shaped public understanding of a healthy plate. Yet rates of obesity, insulin resistance, and metabolic disease continued to rise.

Base Meals on Starchy Foods? is a clear, physiology-based medical guide that re-examines this recommendation. Written by Dr Samir Contractor, a laparoscopic and bariatric surgeon, the book reviews how the body handles carbohydrates, starch, sugar, and fructose; the role of fibre; the limits of five-a-day messaging; and why the distinction between refined starches and real food matters for metabolic health.

It explores insulin responses, liver metabolism, energy regulation, and the practical difference between a starch-heavy plate and one built around nutrient-dense whole foods. The aim is not to ban carbohydrates, but to replace outdated plate models with a more accurate physiological understanding of how different carbohydrate sources affect the body.