What happens if we eat potatoes Daily | Benefits & Side Effects So is it harmful or beneficial? The four most important questions for potatoes
The recommendations of the World Health Organization say that every day you need to eat 400 grams of vegetables and fruits. But potatoes are not included in these 400 grams. Is it not a vegetable? Or what’s wrong with potatoes? It’s time to understand the dangers and benefits of potatoes.
Why are potatoes bad?
We need vegetables and fruits primarily as a source of healthy fiber. There is little of it in potatoes. But a lot of starch. Potatoes are also not considered a healthy food due to their negative impact on blood sugar levels.
“Starch makes up 70–80% of all tuber solids,” says nutritionist Ankit Sharma. – If potatoes are stored for a long time, some of the starch breaks down into glucose, fructose, and other simple carbohydrates. At the same time, tubers have a low energy value: 75 kcal per 100 g of product. Eating potatoes daily can gain a kilogram of excess weight even in a week. But here, everything is individual and depends on the surplus of calories in different people.
Another problem with potatoes is solanine. In nature, plants need it to protect themselves from pests and diseases, but this substance is toxic for humans.
Potato peels also produce solanine – it negatively affects the nervous system,” says nutritionist Ankit Sharma Also, potatoes have a high glycemic index, giving their energy to the body very quickly. You soon feel hungry again, and a healthy regimen is disturbed by metabolic processes.
“But it is worth remembering that the concentration of solanine in peeled potatoes is so insignificant that it practically cannot harm a person,” – Most of all, solanine is not in the tuber itself but the peel, sprouts, and especially in the tops and stems. There are known cases of poisoning with potato leaves – people ate them as green vegetables. The tops are not used even in the feeding of farm animals. If you do not consider the stems and foliage, then most solanine is on damaged potatoes (around the damage site) and in green areas. The green color on potato tubers appears under the influence of sunlight. In these places, the chlorophyll concentration responsible for photosynthesis increases (often sprouts appear from them). During these processes, the production of solanine is also activated.
When is potato contraindicated?
Although recommendations to eliminate potatoes from the diet are rare in medical practice, potatoes should be excluded when it is necessary to limit the intake of simple, easily digestible carbohydrates – in diabetes, obesity, and obesity. Especially fried and mashed. They are boiled – only in agreement with the attending physician.
Are there any benefits to potatoes?
Potatoes in themselves are quite a helpful product. It is a source of minerals, vitamins, and amino acids. For example, it contains a lot of potassium.
There are even fasting days on boiled potatoes, which help to remove excess fluid from the body. Potato is a hypoallergenic product so it can be eaten by young children from 6–8 months, pregnant and lactating women. Potatoes can be eaten with problems with the gastrointestinal tract and with other disorders and diseases.
Are young potatoes healthier than old ones?
It is believed that young potatoes boiled in their skins are an endless source of valuable vitamins and minerals. Therefore, young potatoes should be cooked in their skins and eaten right with the skin on. Potatoes are rich in nutrients, such as vitamin C and potassium, but this applies not only to early, but also to late potatoes.
At the same time, do not forget that potatoes contain nitrates, like all vegetables that grow in the ground and in greenhouses. The main thing is that their number does not exceed the established norms (the permissible amount of nitrates in potatoes is not more than 250 mg / kg ).
“In freshly harvested potatoes, especially early ones, there are more nitrates than in those that have already been stored for some time. The longer the potato is stored, the fewer nitrates it contains since, over time, nitrates turn into protein and nitrogenous compounds safe for health.
There are more nitrates in a young potato because it is not fully ripe, that is, it continues to grow (the tops are still green and powerful), and the nitrogen metabolism inside the tuber tissues is very high, and therefore the concentration of nitrates is increased. At the same time, most nitrates are found in the peel.
To reduce the nitrate content of early potatoes, it is enough to scrape off the skin and then boil the potatoes. As a result, the content of nitrates in potatoes will decrease by 60-70% of the original level. If you are wary of nitrates before boiling or frying potatoes, leave the peeled tubers in water for 30 minutes and change it twice. Of course, this will lead to a loss of starch, but the number of nitrates will also decrease significantly.
As you can see, the potato itself is not harmful. The main thing is to know the measure, eat various foods and not abuse any one product. If you set a goal to lose weight, eat fewer potatoes, and it’s better to forget fried potatoes and fries.
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I am Ankit Sharma Nutrition Consultant. My approach is holistic and customized to enable you to achieve true wellness – physically, mentally, and emotionally. I am from India but have clients across the globe. I can work with you to say goodbye to counting calories and short-term solutions. You will achieve long-term sustainable change in the way that they are eating, moving, living, and believing.