Many people think of the potato as a starchy vegetable without any health benefits to offer. The use of potatoes in some of the most popular food preparations such as French fries or the crunchy packaged potato chips which are not considered good for health, strengthens this opinion further. However, if potatoes are baked or boiled for consumption instead of being deep-fried, then they can be beneficial for our health.
A potato is packed with numerous nutritionally important compounds such as vitamins C and B6, manganese, copper, potassium, tryptophan, carotenoids, flavonoids, dietary fiber and patatin that is a tuber storage protein. In addition, new compounds that have been identified in potatoes are kukoamines that play a role in lowering blood pressure . Potatoes are known to offer cardiovascular benefits and protection against cancer.
Adding to the list of health benefits offered by potatoes, Spanish researchers concluded recently that potatoes could boost the immune system as well. This study is published in the magazine of the Society of Chemical Industry called Chemistry & Industry. The results come after a 14-week study conducted on pigs that were fed raw potato starch (RPS).
It was reported that following the feeding, there was a reduction in the level of white blood cells such as leucocytes and lymphocytes in the blood of the pigs. As much as 15% reductions in the levels of leucocytes were recorded. This could prove beneficial for health as a high count of white blood cells is usually recorded when a person is ill or there is an incident of inflammation. In addition, it was observed there was a decrease in not only lymphocyte density but also lymphocyte apoptosis.
Jose Francisco Perez, who led this research, says,
“The use of raw potato starch in this experiment is designed to simulate the effects of a diet high in resistant starch.”
Ideally humans do not consume raw potatoes but do include many foods in the diet such as pasta, green bananas, cereals, grains, cold boiled potatoes that contain resistant starch. This starch consumption is associated with reduced risk of bowl cancer and can have beneficial effects on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). IBS is somewhat considered an inflammatory disorder in which a transfer of lymphocytes from peripheral blood to the gut occurs. Therefore, the benefits of the intake of raw potato starch with subsequent lowering of lymphocyte levels observed in the study could offer help to people suffering from IBS.
Thus, eating potatoes in the appropriate way can work wonders for your health.
Image: Mrpotatohead
Via: Ibnlive
