Potatoes – The Overlooked Super Food

Nutrition & Weight LossAugust 21, 2017

If you believe that potatoes are there just to be a guilty pleasure on the days your diet just seems too harsh and you simply want to eat some fries, you are very wrong. It turns out that potatoes are incredibly nutritious and quite good for you.

Is it time to lift the stigma that potatoes have had to carry for decades? Well, read the text and figure out for yourself. Our vote is: Yes!

But, what is it that makes us believe that potatoes should be considered a superfood? Let’s go into it.

Potatoes are really rich in good minerals

A lot of foods are rich in minerals, but they are not always easily absorbed into our bodies. However, with potatoes, things are different, as a study published in 2004 (by the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis) confirms. So, if you want a healthy source of magnesium, calcium, zinc, iron, phosphorus, copper and potassium, and you want your body to absorb them, potatoes are a way to go.

They are rich in Vitamin C

As we all know, Vitamin C is truly all-important with the major health benefits it provides. Vitamin C helps your body build collagen and is essential when it comes to growing and repairing tissues in your body. Also, various studies confirm that Vitamin C strengthens your immunity, helps with sunburn, decreases blood sugar in those who have diabetes, and even helps treat viral conditions such as mononucleosis.

Now, when you want a healthy dose of Vitamin C, you usually reach for an orange, but what if we told you that a single potato contains quite a bit of it? You see, even after cooking, which lowers the amount by 30%, you would only need five medium potatoes to attain the recommended daily intake of Vitamin C. That is why some cultures around the world feed their kids on potatoes during the winter instead of various tropical fruits.

“There is all the pleasure that one can have in gold digging in finding one’s hopes satisfied in the riches of a good hill of potatoes.” ― Sarah Orne Jewett

Not only C but they are also well off in B Vitamins

Potatoes contain a good amount of Vitamin B6, B3, B9 and B4. Are you interested to know why that is important? Well, you need these vitamins to not only utilize the energy you intake through food but also to allow your body to make red blood cells. Failure to consume enough of Vitamin B6 can even potentially lead to anemia.

You can actually find protein in a potato

While we would not recommend trying to reach your total daily intake of protein by eating only potatoes, they are quite a good source of it. The fact that a single medium potato offers you around 8% of your daily intake of protein really helps the case of vegans who claim that their diet does not harm them due to the lack of protein. Also, the protein in potato contains all of the nine essential acids.

Potatoes are really good at making you feel full

If you have ever been on a diet, you know how hard it can be once the hunger starts seeping in. As we know, being too hungry can throw a wrench in the diet of even the most persistent people in the world. And this is where potatoes come in. Allow us to explain: A study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition tested various foods to see how good they are at keeping people sated. Surprisingly, a boiled potato came out on top. Therefore, if you are on a weight loss diet and are struggling due to hunger, boiling a potato can really help you out a lot.

They are delicious

We know that this is not entirely objective or as relevant when it comes to obtaining the status of a superfood. Nonetheless, potatoes are one of the most rewarding foods ever. Of course, the most popular for of them (the french fries) is usually made in a manner that doesn’t really coincide with the idea of a healthy diet, but if you are patient enough to make your own potatoes by boiling or baking them, you can make yourself a delicious meal with very little culinary knowledge required.