Potatoes is a starchy, edible tuber of the plant Solanum tuberosum and is a root vegetable native to the Americas.
Although french fries and potato skins may be heavy in fat and calories, the potato itself is fat and and cholesterol free as well as low in sodium. Prepared the right way, potatoes can make a delicious, satisfying, and healthy dish.
Potatoes are a good source of fiber, which can help you lose weight by keeping you full longer. Fiber can help prevent heart disease by keeping cholesterol and blood sugar levels in check. Potatoes are also full of antioxidants that work to prevent diseases and vitamins that help your body function properly.
The potato diet resets your metabolism and reward centres of the brain that helps in weight loss! So, you can eat potatoes without worrying about your waistline! Have baked, steamed, boiled or mashed potatoes at room temperature. Cook it and then, let it cool down before you have it.
Other Health Benefits of Potatoes
Potatoes are a good source of fiber, which can help you lose weight by keeping you full longer. Fiber can help prevent heart disease by keeping cholesterol and blood sugar levels in check. Potatoes are also full of antioxidants that work to prevent diseases and vitamins that help your body function properly.
In addition, potatoes can provide the following health benefits:
Digestive Health
The fiber found in potatoes is a special type called “resistant starch,” which has the health benefits of both soluble fiber and insoluble fiber and causes less gas than other types of fiber. You can up the amount of resistant starch in potatoes by cooking them a day ahead of time and cooling them in the fridge overnight. Feel free to reheat them before you eat.
Like soluble fiber, the resistant starch in potatoes acts as a prebiotic – food for good bacteria in the large intestine that improves gut health. Like insoluble fiber, it can prevent or treat constipation and irritable bowel syndrome.
Disease Prevention
Potatoes are packed with antioxidants — compounds that fight free radicals from causing damage to your cells. A diet high in antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables lowers your risk of heart disease and cancer.
To get the most out of potatoes, leave the skins on and choose colorful types such as purple potatoes. The more color in the potato, the more antioxidants it contains. On top of that, the skin of the potato can have up to 12 times more antioxidants than the flesh. So, don’t be afraid to eat your potato skins.
Lower Blood Pressure
Baked potato skin is a great source of potassium and magnesium. When you don’t have enough potassium in your diet, your body retains extra sodium, and too much sodium raises your blood pressure. A potassium rich diet can help decrease blood pressure, protecting the heart and reducing the risk of stroke.
Nutrition
One unskinned potato provides:
over 40% of the recommended daily value of Vitamin C
about half the Vitamin B6 needed for the day
more potassium than a banana
Potatoes are also a good source of calcium, magnesium, and folate.
/sourced from the internet/
