Potato: all the properties and health benefits

Origin of the potato

The potatoes –like rice– belong to that class of food that, prepared in different ways, satisfies most people. They are familiar, as they have been liked since childhood and are part of popular dishes that arouse unanimous applause.

The qualities of the potato (Solanum tuberosum) have taken it to the first place of world crops. Growing in different climates and being consumed by local populations, it is often free from the commercial transactions that carry other foods from one end of the planet to the other, which keeps its price low.

The plant is a nightshade, like pepper or tomato. Its leaves produce starch, which travels to the underground stems and accumulates to form tubers.

In moist, nutrient-rich soil, one plant produces about 20 potatoes, which can weigh up to 300 grams. There is, therefore, a more productive plant food. Once the leaves and stems wither, the tubers fall off and from each one can grow from two to ten shoots (the “eyes”) of new plants.

The first potatoes were grown between 4,000 and 8,000 years ago in the Andes the ancestors of the Incas (Tiahuanaco, Moche, Wari cultures…). It must have been near Lake Titicaca, where they are still called mama jatha or “mother of growth.”

The Spanish conquerors took potatoes (potatoes in America) to Europe, where they ended up triumphing after a century and a half of doubts about whether what came from unknown lands would be edible.

Potato nutritional values

How many calories does a potato have?

Analyzing the nutritional values ​​of the tuber, in 100 grams of potato we discover:

calories: 77 caloriesproteins: 2 gfats: 0.1gcarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 2.2g

Potato properties

The potato is one of the most popular foods in the world and a very reasonable source of energy that provides us with more vitamins and minerals and fewer calories than is normally attributed.

200 grams of boiled potatoes contribute 20% of vitamin B1 we need, 14% of vitamin B3 and 24% of vitamin B6.

They also offer a significant amount of minerals. The 200 grams would cover 8% of the daily needs for selenium, 22% for potassium, 20% for fluoride and 14% for iron.

Due to its nutritional characteristics and its rich in starchthe potato is equated with cereals, because it is rich in carbohydrates and with a protein composition of 2%.

B vitamins

The most prominent micronutrient in potatoes is vitamin B6. This vitamin is involved in more than one hundred known enzymatic reactions, such as those necessary to create new healthy cells -not cancer cells- and tissues from amino acids; in numerous functions of the nervous system, and in the deactivation and elimination of harmful substances such as homocysteine, which increases the risk of heart attack.

There is no shortage of significant doses of other B vitamins. An average serving of boiled potatoes provides more than 10% of the daily needs of vitamins B1, B2 and folic acid.

As for minerals, potatoes are a abundant source of potassiumin addition to containing small amounts of magnesium and iron.

They don’t inevitably get fat

In the last decades, it has been wanted to point out that the potato was one of the culprits of excess obesity and diabetes in rich countries. It is a mistake that science is clearing up.

The glycemic index (GI) tables They have part of the responsibility for the misunderstanding, since they attribute a GI of 70 to boiled potatoes and 80 to instant puree, a figure that is only below honey, boiled carrots, white bread and glucose, which with 100 marks the maximum. These figures suggest that potatoes can promote excess blood sugar, obesity and metabolic imbalance.

However, it should be taken into account the “glycemic load” of the diet, a more precise data than the GI, since it considers the size of the portions and the proportion of water, carbohydrates, fiber and protein of each food that is ingested throughout the day.

Thus, a complete and nutritious dish made up of 200 grams of boiled potato, 75 grams of tofu and 100 grams of broccoli has as much glycemic load as a 50-gram slice of bread!

The way to prepare and consume potatoes also influences its effect. The main mistake is eating excessive portions of potatoes that have absorbed the fat from frying or baking.

The same amount of potatoes can go from 80 calories/100 grams if they are boiled, to more than 450 calories if they are fried. Instead, steamed preserve micronutrients better and represent an energetic, digestive and healthy food.

Furthermore, if they are allowed to cool for a few hours, the sugars turn into resistant starch which reduces the caloric intake of the potato in half and serves as food for the beneficial intestinal microbiota (thus reducing the risk of colon cancer).

Potato health benefits

The potato benefits they are remarkable and very varied

Relieves gastrointestinal problems

The boiled, roasted or steamed potato is effective in cases of gastritis, febrile states and acetone. Raw potato juice is also a medicinal element in case of acute gastritis and gastroduodenal ulcer processes.

It is generally considered an anti-inflammatory food that can soothe digestive discomfort associated with stress.

Control sugar and fat

Cold potatoes not only do not increase blood sugar, but help control it. They favor the insulin sensitivity (lowers the rate of blood sugar) and decreases the concentrations of cholesterol and triglycerides.

finally stimulates the use of body fat as a source of energy and satiates (triple that the same amount of bread).

Fights oxidation and prevents cancer

For decades it has been assumed that substances of great nutritional or therapeutic value should not be found in the white meat of the potato. However, newer analytical methods, such as liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry, have discovered a large number of beneficial compounds in potatoes.

Roy Navarre, who has coordinated experts from several US universities in an ambitious government-funded study, has identified 60 substances, including phenolic compounds similar to those that give broccoli, spinach or Brussels sprouts prestige as healthy and that protect against cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and some types of cancer.

Some of these compounds are kukoamineswhich until then had only been found in the famous goji berries and which have a beneficial effect on blood pressure.

Helps the immune system

In addition, the potato contains other substances that collaborate with the immune system such as quercetin, carotenoids (in varieties with yellow flesh), anthocyanins (in purple and blue ones), chlorogenic acid and caffeic acids.

Its pulp also becomes a excellent healing if used as a poultice.

potato in the kitchen

The preparation healthier of the potatoes is the steamed with skin. If you opt for roasting, it should be done without fat or with a small amount of olive oil, and in a low oven (less than 140º C).

If they are going to be cooked in water, the loss of potassium and vitamins C and group B can be reduced boiling them with the skin.

To make a puree, it is important to chop the potato so that it absorbs more liquid, start to boil in cold water, without salt, and turn the heat to low.

In a stew they can be cut, fried and added at the end, or chopped and added between 15 and 20 minutes before finishing. To make them fried and less caloric, they can be roasted first and then browned in oil.

potato varieties

New potatoes, which are picked when the plant is still green, from the end of spring and during the summer, they are sweeter and retain a solid, dense and moist texture after cooking.

They are suitable for steaming or cooking in water. From a nutritional point of view, they contain less potassium and more vitamin C.

Old potatoes, which are harvested in autumn, but of red-skinned (such as red pontiac) and white (monalisa) varieties have similar characteristics.

The other old potatoes have a more mealy and dry texture. They are recommended for frying or roasting, and their glycemic index (speed with which they are assimilated) is higher.