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When researchers announced in September that they’d identified “starchy” as the sixth taste, it didn’t exactly blow any minds. Of course crunchy bread and pillowy bagels have their own distinct allure — that’s what makes the carb bombs so hard to avoid.

But what if those same starchy comfort foods you crave are the healthiest foods you could be eating?

According to Dr. John McDougall, co-author of the just-released “The Healthiest Diet on the Planet” (HarperCollins), starchy foods are not only good for you, but should make up the majority of your meals.

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“The diet of human beings is a starch-based diet,” McDougall tells The Post. “Mayans and Aztecs were the people of corn. Asians, you think of rice. In the Middle East, they live on wheat and barley. In the Andes, they live on potatoes.”

Starches are what humans subsisted on, McDougall says, until what he calls “food madness” took place a century ago, hooking Americans — and others around the world — on sugar, fat and an overwhelming desire for protein. A return to a diet that’s mostly starch, he argues, is the way to go. Other experts agree. Here, a guide to the best starches.

Click for more from the New York Post.