Many people believe that potatoes lead to the weight gain and can hardly be considered as ‘super food’ which is rich in vitamins, minerals and valuable nutrients. However, studies have shown that, in fact, potatoes are much more useful for us and our body than many products, popularly considered as healthy ones, including bananas, broccoli, beets, nuts and avocados.
According to researchers who have analyzed menus of 876 children and 948 adult, people who replace potatoes with the products that cost much more and expect to increase their intake of ‘healthy’ products strongly misbehave because potato has five and a half times more fiber than a medium-sized banana and more vitamin C than in thee medium avocados. In addition, one medium potato, either it is baked in the oven or boiled, has only 161 kcal. Of course, iif you eat fried potatoes, you will receive 320 kcal from only one serving.
Studies have also shown that patiens who eat potatoes twice a week may improve their health: they may effectively reduce the risk of blood pressure and, on the contrary to popular belief, do not add any extra pounds. In addition, potatoes are a much better source of selenium than nuts and seeds, as it is popularly believed. The research was initiated by the British Potato Council and by an independent nutritionist named S. Gibson. Together, they have developed a mobile application that helps to compare potatoes and other products by their nutritional value.
Potato Council’s nutritionist Sian Porter explains that it is very important to eat different foods, but people often chase innovations and simply forget such common products as potatoes. It is popularly said that bananas are an excellent source of potassium and this is true. However, surpringly enough, potatoes are more rich in this mineral.