Potatoes are the world’s most popular vegetable, yet they typically get a poor name. Because the majority is consumed in the form of fries or chips, many people regard them as harmful foods.
That does not have to be the case.
Consuming one medium-sized baked potato per day can be part of a balanced diet and does not raise cardiometabolic risk — the likelihood of developing diabetes, heart disease, or stroke — as long as the potato is steamed or baked and served without excessive salt or saturated fat.
They also found that eating non-fried potatoes provided more potassium and fiber than eating refined carbohydrates such as white rice, white bread, or pasta.
“Certainly, eating chips or french fries should be avoided, but there are healthy methods to eat potatoes, so I believe grouping them all is wrong to the poor potato.”
Prepared With An As Little Salt And Fat As Possible
The study looked the effect of eating potatoes every day versus consuming the same number of calories in refined carbohydrates.
They enrolled 50 healthy people, who had their baseline blood pressure and arterial stiffness evaluated before the trial began, and whose blood samples were tested for fasting glucose, cholesterol, insulin, and other indicators. These examinations were carried out repeatedly during the investigation.
The participants were then randomly allocated to substitute a study side dish for their customary main meal starchy side dish: either 200 calories worth of potatoes or refined grains. For four weeks, they ate this way every day.
They switched to the opposite study side dish after a two-week interval, eating it with their main meal every day for a month.
Steamed or roasted red, white, and gold potatoes were served as side dishes. Spanish rice, spaghetti, garlic bread, and naan were among the refined grain alternatives.
All were prepared with minimum additional salt, saturated fat, or sugar, while certain items, such as scallions, onions, breadcrumbs, and cheese, were added for flavour.
Potassium-Rich Source
The study discovered that eating potatoes increased participants’ potassium and fibre consumption much more than eating refined grains. Their food quality was also higher, owing to greater consumption of vegetables.
According to the scientists, there was no indication that eating potatoes raised fasting glucose levels, and there was no difference in cholesterol, insulin, or other indicators. They determined that there were no negative cardiometabolic repercussions.
Potatoes are high in potassium, which is essential for blood pressure management but is deficient in most people’s diets.
Potatoes may be part of a healthy diet, including one for weight reduction. A medium baked potato has 4 grammes of fiber (approximately 20% of your daily amount), 4 grammes of protein, half of your vitamin C for the day, 25% of your potassium, and a third of your vitamin B6, and about 10% of your iron.
The Healthiest Method To Consume Potatoes Is As Follows:
- Make potatoes a side dish that takes up roughly one-fourth of your plate.
- Watch the portion size: one medium potato is roughly the size of a computer mouse. Because baked potatoes in restaurants can be significantly larger, consider eating half.
- Bake, roast, or steam potatoes instead of boiling them: Boiling potatoes adds no calories or fat, but it leaches potassium out of them. Frying is a dietary no-no.
- Whether baking or microwaving, leave the peel on to maximize the nutrients and fibre.
- Avoid adding additions like butter, sour cream, or bacon pieces to your potato. Take it easy with the salt.
