The Health Benefits of the Greatest Food in the World, the Potato
May 24, 2016
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The healthiest potatoes are the darker-colored varieties such as the Sweet Potato, Purple Viking, Yukon Gold Fingerling and the Ruby Crescent, originally called the Rosa Tannenzapfen. One cup of Sweet Potatoes has 769% vitamin A and 65% vitamin C. The vitamin A in Sweet Potatoes is beta-carotene which is a vitamin produced by plants. Beta-carotene decreases your risk of cardiovascular disease, oral cavities, and lung cancers.
Vitamin C lowers your blood pressure which helps to decrease the chance of hypertension. It strengthens your immune system and helps to lessen the effects of common colds such as inflammation, stuffy nose and aches. Vitamin C is also a powerful and effective antioxidant that protects our bodies from free radicals that cause oxidative stress. Oxidative stress leads to many pathophysiological conditions in the body. Some of these include neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease, gene mutations and cancers, chronic fatigue syndrome, fragile X syndrome, heart and blood vessel disorders, atherosclerosis, heart failure, heart attack and inflammatory diseases.
In Purple Viking potatoes there is four times the antioxidant content than what is found in Russet potatoes. Anthocyanin is the pigment that results in the purple color and also acts as an antioxidant. Yukon Gold Potatoes provide twice as much vitamin C than a regular potato.
All the health benefits briefly described above are found in the skin of the potato. To reap the benefits of eating such a healthy tubular plant you maybe have to modify your current cooking methods to keep the skin. Twice baked potatoes are an excellent way to keep the skin and give the meal a fancy presentation whilst having your favorite mashed potato recipe incorporated.
A few other recipes:
Roasted Potatoes
http://www.food.com/recipe/roasted-potatoes-70017
Two-Toned Mashed Potatoes
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/two_toned_mashed_potatoes.html
Carrot, Sweet Potato, and Squash Soup
http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/carrot-sweet-potato-and-squash-soup/15042/
Little Potato Poutine
http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/little-potato-poutine/17406/
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Well even a non potato lover like me might have to try a couple of those recipes. Awesome article Ashlee!
As soon as I started reading this article the first thing I wanted to do was try a purple viking, Yukon Gold Fingerling and the Ruby Crescent simply because of their names (especially the viking one). It’s great that you put a healthy perspective on this type of vegetable because most people ignore it or barely touch it because they think it’s bad for them. I also really like how you included recipes on how to cook these potatoes so it’s easier for people to make eating potatoes more enjoyable.
Potatoes are great, but shouldn’t people be worried about consuming 769% Vitamin A? Are there consequences to having too much? If someone were to eat a cup of sweet potatoes every day, would they experience side effects or consequences as a result of it?
It’s amazing how many nutrients and vitamins are contained in just the skin of vegetables. I never knew that sweet potatoes had so much Vitamin A! Even though I hardly have any culinary experience, I’d like to try some of these recipes. I need to start somewhere, and these sound pretty good!