Table of Contents
Are potatoes a superfood? The new study results indicate that there’s a superfood right in your kitchen and more than often it goes unnoticed. So, while the nutritionist experts are going gaga over the dark green vegetables, the humble potatoes actually contain a lot of nutrition value for you, and they are also very inexpensive.
When it comes to comparing the product lists, potatoes are among some of the most nutrition-rich foods available, and they provide much more nutritional value than the other raw vegetables in the market. Thus, they are the most affordable source of potassium and one of the most regularly eaten vegetables next only to beans.
Are potatoes a superfood?
Fortunately, almost no one believes that a potato, or any plant that is not drowned in fat, is fattening anymore. Good that the oval power tuber finally loses its negative image, because it provides our body with a variety of valuable nutrients and minerals:
The domestic “earth apple” scores with abundant complex carbohydrates, which we owe to the starch contained in it, but with only about 1% fat, which makes it the ideal satiation. However, the vegetable should not be reduced only to that: Potatoes are among those tuberous vegetables whose protein can be absorbed particularly well by the body.
In addition, 15 different minerals, trace elements, and vitamins have been found in potatoes in particularly remarkable quantities, including magnesium, iron, zinc, and phosphorus.
Round and healthy
The potato’s relatively high potassium and vitamin B and C content are surprising, which is why these yellow-brown contemporaries are also known as the “lemons of the north”. Their blue and purple colleagues also contain substances that have an inhibitory effect on the angiotensin-forming enzyme (ACE) – substances that are also used in blood pressure-lowering drugs!
Index to measure superfood nutrition
Dr. Adam Drewnowski and his team from the University of Washington experimented using a blend of nutrient profiling methods as well as countrywide food prices data to develop an affordability index that can be used to examine the nutrients present in individual vegetables including the dark green, orange, red, and starchy legumes.
The results of the test show that the dark green vegetables score the highest nutrient density after taking the cost factor into consideration. Starchy vegetables like potatoes and beans provide more nutritional value for the money.
The nutrition found in potatoes
Potatoes are one of the most nutritious superfoods that offer low-cost options for the four essential nutrients required by the body – fiber, potassium, magnesium, and vitamin C.
When considering the most commonly used vegetables, USDA Dietary Guidelines 2010 identified beans and potatoes as the lowest-cost sources of fiber and potassium.
Healthy food programs
According to Adam Drewnowski, families who are concerned about extending their food budget and the government policy builders are always seeking to balance economics and nutrition for food programs like WIC and the kid’s lunch programs at school. When it comes to getting nutrition at affordable rates, there are few foods that can beat potatoes.
This study that was sponsored by the United States Potato Board further adds to the ever-increasing database of nutrition science which advocates the use of potatoes in a healthy diet.
