Potatoes: Benefits and harms
Potatoes can be used in your diet and what benefits does this type of carbohydrate have in sports. Today, potatoes are the most familiar food that is constantly used in the diet. At the same time, this is a rather unique product, which people call the second bread for a reason. It has the perfect composition and can be used for a long time without the risk of damaging the body.
The product came to European countries from the New World and for a long time, it was a mysterious plant. There are many known cases of potato poisoning in ancient times when people simply did not know what to eat – berries or tubers. But over time, the fear disappeared and now the potato is common all over the world. It is a versatile food and there is a large selection of dishes that can be prepared from potatoes. Today we will try to tell you in as much detail as possible what are the benefits and harms of the diet.
However, first, let’s take a brief tour and find out how these foods proved so popular. The homeland of the potato is considered to be a large territory of the Andes, where this plant grew from Lake Titicaca to the ancient urban settlement of Cuzco. It is not known exactly, but it is possible that the Inca Indians cultivated this culture in the mountains of the area in the city of Makchu Picchu.
For the first time, the American botanist Eugent was researching potatoes. While researching the excavations in ancient Indian settlements, he discovered that the natives of Peru began cultivating this plant more than 12,000 years ago. In Central and South America, potatoes were one of India’s most popular foods.
Most likely this is because this plant was necessary for the locals to complete nutrition and consequently survive. Of course, the Indians were well aware of all the secrets of the cultivation of this plant, as well as methods of long-term storage. As a result, by storing potatoes, Native Americans could avoid starvation.
In many Indian tribes, the potato was worshiped as a plant and was worshiped like other gods. You will probably be interested to know that many Indian tribes called potatoes “daddy” and that is where the name of the plant came from. After collecting potatoes, the Indians celebrated. It is well known that during the harvest festivals, the indigenous people of Ecuador sprinkled the blood of a sacrificial lamb to thank God. The American Indians grew about 150 varieties of potatoes and had a number of recipes for dishes from this plant.
Chunyo was a very popular potato dish. Even today, Chugno is very popular among the natives of the Andes. In fact, it was a kind of canned food, and potatoes could be stored for up to four years. To prepare chunyo, potato tubers were placed on a special straw and waited until they froze. Then they covered it with the same straw and by pressing, remove moisture from the potatoes. After that, the tubers were dried in the sun and the result was chuno. Now let’s find out what are the benefits and harms of potatoes in the diet.
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Benefits of the diet of potatoes
Potatoes appeared in Russia during the reign of Peter the Great, but this plant was immediately underestimated. Some aristocrats simply cultivated it as an ornamental plant. As in European countries, it was not immediately understood in Russia that it was necessary to eat tubers and berries could be harmful to health. There is information that Peter the Great forced the cultivation of potatoes. Therefore, this plant is now cultivated in all regions of Russia and our country is one of the main potato producers on earth.
Today, potatoes are used by everyone and could replace vegetables such as rutabagas and turnips from the Russian diet. Previously, they were the basis of the diet of most Icelanders, but still, they could not compete with potatoes and lost their leadership position. So, what are the benefits and harms of potatoes on the diet and is it worth using this product this season.
Potatoes are a great source of fiber, carbohydrates, and four types of protein compounds – peptone, protein, globulin and albumin. The plant also contains several types of organic acids, for example, apple, oxalic acid, lemon juice, and so on. It also contains some minerals with vitamins.
Almost 80 percent of the tubers of this plant consist of water, starch is about 17 percent. The presence of ash (1%) and nitrogen-containing compounds (3%) in potato tubers should also be recalled. Starch has the most nutritional value in potatoes. Most of this material is found in the latter types of tubers. Potatoes have a diuretic and antispasmodic effect on the body. The tubers of the plant contain a lot of calcium, which helps to remove fluid from the body. Also, the plant can neutralize excess acids that accumulate in the body. By eating potatoes, you can normalize your metabolism; improve your heart muscle and digestive system. Researchers have proven that the product can be useful in certain liver diseases. The juice of a young plant can help with gastritis, duodenum, and stomach ulcers, as well as heartburn. All people who want to know what are the benefits and harms of potatoes in the diet should remember that the product must be properly processed. This will preserve the maximum amount of nutrients.
Peel a squash, grate it and squeeze the juice. If the tubers are poured with water after that and they are left behind, mineral salts, organic acids, and carbohydrates are lost and some vitamins are destroyed. It is recommended to cook uncooked young potatoes. This is because the skin protects the nutrients from being washed out and destroyed during the cooking process.
You probably know that the taste of potatoes does not change at the same time. There is also another advantage of potatoes boiled together with the skin – you can breathe in the respiratory tract if there are diseases. Potatoes baked in their skin are very tasty. But French fries can be considered the most harmful dish for the body. There are quite a few people who prefer to eat fried potatoes.
To preserve maximum nutrients while frying, you should proceed as follows. Heat oil or pork fat in a pan for five minutes under the lid. Cut potato tubers into slices and salt, and place in a pan in heated oil. For ten minutes you should fry the potatoes over high heat, stirring constantly. Then, without heating, you have to let the potatoes stand for 10 or 15 minutes. Sprinkle the prepared dish with herbs and serve.
Harm potatoes with diet
Today we are talking about the benefits and harms of potatoes on the diet. We have already talked about the positive features of the product. And now the negative aspects of potatoes should be noted. You must remember that under certain conditions, tubers can be poisonous. The peel of the potato releases a strong toxin – solanine when exposed to the sun for a long time.
If the tubers begin to germinate and turn green, this indicates a high content of toxins. Potato sprouts contain more than 30-100 times more solanine compared to non-germinated tubers. Potatoes can also be dangerous when stored for more than three months. Women should be especially careful when eating potatoes during pregnancy. Researchers have found that beef can cause birth defects.
If you come across green tubers, it is better not to eat them at all or at least cut off the green areas along with the pulp. Should be stored in a cool place at a temperature of 2 to 6 degrees. If you are going to use old tubers, then you need to cut as much of the peel as possible, as it is under the accumulation of toxins. In addition, peeling should be dipped in salt, which will neutralize nitrates and toxic substances.
Potatoes benefits and harms
Is it possible or not to potato while you lose weight?
Many people are convinced that it is not advisable to eat potatoes while losing weight. This is a very important point because today we are just talking about the benefits and harms of potatoes in the diet. We hasten to inform you that many nutritionists recommend eating potatoes on Fridays and even including them in your diet.
The indicator of the energy value of a hundred grams of the product is only 78-79 kilocalories. Remember that tubers contain large amounts of plant protein compounds and fiber. All this makes potatoes a real food product.
All people who want to eat potatoes while losing weight should do so at lunch. It is also advisable to eat baked tubers along with the skin. It is quite obvious that when you lose weight, you should not eat potatoes boiled in fat or grease. Also, when you lose weight, you should not use potatoes as a side dish to meat or fish dishes. As potatoes contain a large amount of starch (this is mainly due to the tubers of young plants), do not use it more than four times a week. Starch is known for its ability to “hold” the gut together and frequent consumption of potatoes can lead to gastrointestinal disorders.
