A report by Areeba Hussain, published at the site Reports Healthcare, tells that most people avoid eating potatoes due its theoretically high-calorie count. “7 Proven Benefits of Potatoes That You Don’t Know” explains that…, indeed the potatoes are rich in health properties and much lower in calories that many other foods. Follows the Areeba Hussain´s report

Potatoes are everyone’s favorite. No matter how you cook it and at which meal you add it, potatoes are versatile food ingredients in so many recipes. It is a root vegetable, which is a staple food.

This root of potato plant is underground. The scientific name of potato plant is Solanum tuberosum. Compared to other vegetables, potatoes are inexpensive and easy to grow. You can even grow them in your backyard if you are into home growing. Additionally, potatoes have loads of nutrients in them.
Potatoes are ignored for being carbohydrate-rich. Most people avoid eating potatoes for their high-calorie count. On the other side, potatoes have good effects on health. You might like to know the following 7 best nutritional benefits of potatoes.

1 – Nutritional Boost
Talk about potatoes and you will know about a huge list of nutrients that it has in it. It includes vitamins and minerals too. Do you know that a medium-size baked potato with its skin has following things inside it?

Size; medium; Weight; 1 ounces or 173 grams
Total calories; 161 (*)
Fat content; 2 grams
Protein; 3 grams
Net carbs; 6 grams
Fiber; 8 grams
Vitamin C; 28% of the RDI (**)
Vitamin B6; 27% of the RDI
Potassium; 26% of the RDI
Manganese; 19% of the RDI
Magnesium; 12% of the RDI
Phosphorus; 12% of the RDI
Niacin; 12% of the RDI
Folate; 12% of the RDI

(*) EN – According to Wikipedia, 100 g of bread contain 265 cal

(**) RDI, recommended daily intake

These statistics are for a medium sized potato. For bigger or smaller size, these quantities may vary. It also depends on how they are prepared. Baked potatoes are usually a standard to know about the nutritional values of its elements. If you opt for deep-frying, it will add up its calories etc.

The skin of the potato is a source of nutrients and vitamins. Though many of the recipes don’t use potato skins but yet if you plan to eat baked potatoes, keep the skin intact. Peeling the potatoes will reduce their nutritional content.

2- Rich in Antioxidants
Potatoes are naturally rich in compounds like flavonoids, carotenoids, and phenolic acids, collectively called antioxidants. These compounds are very beneficial for the health. They have a tendency to neutralize the damaging molecules called free radicals.

These free radicals are found inside the body and when they accumulate; they can increase the risk of certain chronic diseases such as heart problems, diabetes, cancer etc. It is even shown by research that antioxidants of potatoes may sometime help to suppress the growing cancer cells of liver and colon.

Most of the study data on potatoes are test tube studies. There is a need of human-based research before making a high health recommendation.

3- Role in maintaining blood sugar
Potatoes have a special type of starch in them. It is called resistant starch. Unlike another starch type, it doesn’t break down and is fully absorbed into the body. What it does is that it makes it way to the large intestine and serves are a source of nutrients for the good bacteria that reside in a healthy gut.

This resistant starch is linked with a number of health benefits such as reducing insulin resistance that eventually maintains the blood sugar. It is proven by research on an animal model that resistant starch has a role in insulin resistance. It means once the excess sugar is removed from the body, it becomes more efficient.

The good thing is that you can control the quantity of this resistant starch. For example, you can increase or decrease the resistant starch content by storing the boiled potatoes in the refrigerator overnight. When you consume them cold, they will have the higher content of starch in them.

The other benefits are:
4- Role in digestion
5- A gluten-free food source
6- Highly fulfilling food
7- Versatile by nature

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