IN the United States, they’re boiled, mashed or stuck in a stew. In the Philippines, however, they are more popular as French fries. Some Filipinos use it as an ingredient of nilagang baka and pochero (if banana is not available).
They’re called potatoes, locally known as patatas. But the question is: are they good for your health?
But before answering that crucial question, what’s in a potato, anyway? According to the Medical News Today (MNT), a 100-gram potato—with its skin still unpeeled—contains the following: 0.15 grams of fat, 21.08 grams of carbohydrate, 2.1 grams of dietary fiber, 2.10 grams of protein, 10 milligrams of calcium, 0.64 mg of iron, 27 mg of magnesium and 75 mg of phosphorus.
There’s more: 544 mg of potassium, 12.6 mg of vitamin C, 0.211 mg of vitamin B6 and 38 micrograms (mcg) of folate. In addition, potatoes also contain niacin, choline and zinc.
There are those who discourage people to eat potatoes as they are fattening. Actually, it’s a myth. Recent nutritional studies revealed that the potato is 99.9 percent fat-free as it contains no cholesterol.
The potato falls in the category of starch carbohydrates (sugar is another one). Starch, or polysaccharide, contains around 2000 glucose units taking a long time for the body to break down into glucose, unlike the insulin reaction in simpler sugars. Thus, unlike sugar, the potato is not fattening.
“By itself, potato is not fattening [and the feeling of satiety that comes from eating potato can actually help people to control their weight],” said the Rome-based United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
However, preparing and serving potatoes with high-fat ingredients raises the caloric value of the dish. “Since the starch in raw potato cannot be digested by humans, they are prepared for consumption by boiling [with or without the skin], baking or frying,” FAO points out.
Potatoes may be known in the past as “poor man’s food” but today, they are always a favorite at the dinner table in the United States. French fries are a bestseller among fast-food outlets.
Dr. Jackie Puhl, an exercise physiologist who once worked with the US Olympic Committee in Colorado, and Nancy Clark, author of The Athlete’s Kitchen, chorused that the disdained potato is one of nature’s perfect foods and that eating this is the excellent way to get your carbohydrates.
According to Megan Ware, author of the MNT report, some varieties of potatoes contain sodium, alpha-lipoic acid (ALA), quercetin, antioxidants and fiber. “Whole, unprocessed potatoes contain very little sodium, only 10 mg per 100 grams, or less than 1 percent of the suggested daily limit,” it explained. But then, it is not true of processed potato products, such as French fries and potato chips.
Potatoes also contain a compound known as ALA, which helps the body to convert glucose into energy. “Some evidence suggests that ALA can help control blood glucose levels, improve vasodilation, protect against retinopathy in diabetic patients, and preserve brain and nerve tissue,” Ware wrote.
Quercetin is a flavonoid found in potato skin. “[It] appears to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effect that protects the body’s cells from damage by free radicals,” Ware said, adding that “flavonoids are a kind of phytonutrient, organic compounds that are believed to help protect against disease.”
As stated earlier, potatoes contain vitamin C, which acts as an antioxidant. Ware stated: “Antioxidants may help prevent cell damage and cancer, and promote healthy digestion and cardiovascular functions.”
As for the fiber they contain, it can help a person maintain a healthy digestive system and circulation.
But there’s more to potato than just food. In the past, the potato has been considered as a medicinal plant. To carry a raw potato in the pocket was an old-fashioned remedy against rheumatism that modern research has proved to have a scientific basis.
Ladies in the olden times had special bags or pockets made in their dresses in which they carry one or more small raw potatoes for the purpose of avoiding rheumatism. Successful experiments in the treatment of rheumatism and gout have, in the last few years, been made with preparations of raw potato juice.
In cases of gout, rheumatism and lumbago, the acute pain is much relieved by fomentations of the prepared juice followed by an application of liniment and ointment. Sprains and bruises have also been successfully treated by the potato-juice preparations.
Hot potato water has, in years, past been a remedy for some forms of rheumatism. A popular potato remedy for rheumatism was made by cutting up the tubers, infusing them together with the fresh stalks and unripe berries for some hours in cold water, and applying in the form of a cold compress. The potatoes were not peeled.
Starch from potato is also widely used by the pharmaceutical, textile, wood and paper industries as an adhesive, binder, texture agent and filler, and by oil drilling firms to wash boreholes. Potato starch is a 100 percent biodegradable substitute for polystyrene and other plastics and used, for example, in disposable plates, dishes and knives.
The name “potato” is believed to be derived from the Inca name papa. The association with Ireland is thought to be responsible for the name “Irish potato,” which is retained even though potatoes are grown almost all over the world.
Just who was the man who discovered the glorious find of the fields? He was Francisco Pizzaro, who conquered the Incas in South America in 1530 (the potato was a principal crop there for as early as 500 BC). But this “sinister-looking” vegetable was viewed with suspicion, associating it with leprosy and syphilis.
Scots abhorred it because it was not mentioned in the Bible, Swedes regarded it as abominable and unfit for humans, and Russians in the 18th century died of famine rather than eat the lowly repugnant potato. Disdain for it caused the monarchy of Prussia to issue a directive ordering the cutting off of peasants’ ears and noses if they refused to eat it.
When Scotch-Irish immigrants started to settle in Maine in 1791, they brought potatoes along into what was to become one of the United States. However, it was American President Thomas Jefferson who introduced pomme frites to his people after his return from a trip to Paris. Now as American as apple pie, they are promoted as “American fries” at McDonald’s and similar eateries in other parts of the world. (But in the Philippines, they are still called “French fries.”)
Potatoes, anyone?
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