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| Is potato good for you? |
Somebody
told me recently that a baked potato was 'the worst thing you can
eat'. When I asked them why this was the case, they told me that it
was full of starch and just added calories that you didn't need. It
is quite amazing how peoples opinions of nutrition can be changed by
fad diets and health points systems. The fact that the potato before
any cooking is packed with excellent nutritious benefits was lost on
this person who viewed the potato, and starch, as generally bad for
you.
I
have always been a firm believer in a balanced diet and lifestyle,
and as such, have always promoted a healthy amount of starchy
carbohydrates in order to have the energy for exercise. Remember,
eating well is only part of a healthy lifestyle, part two is
exercise, and without good quality energy sources, you're going to
find that you have less get up and go, and all the extra calories you
eat will be stored as fat. So lets have a look at the baked potato,
and 5 reasons why it is better than people might think...
1. A
Baked Potato is a Meal
Often
we look at ingredients in isolation and add them to a meal, but a
sizeable baked potato is in itself a meal. A large potato, or about
300g in size, is more than enough for a filling portion, and that's
good to get you started. The calories contained in that size of baked
potato are only 278. Given your RDA of 2000 for a woman and 2500 for
a male, and the baked potato is a scratch, toppings aside. That makes
the baked potato a great base for any meal.
2. Baked
Potatoes are Carbohydrate Based
Carbohydrates
are often seen as the devil in modern day diets, but that is simply
not true. The devil of a diet is that you deny yourself something,
and that makes you want it more. So take in the carbs, and feel good
about doing it. Most general recommendations of macronutrient balance
say 65% carbs, 20% fat and 15% protein, so don't neglect your biggest
food group. Potatoes have a brilliant balance of carbs too. In your
large potato you get 63g of carbohydrates, and 51g of that is starch.
That's high quality slow release energy that will keep you going all
day. For the health conscious, only 4g is sugar, so you're limiting
your sweet intake, and the fibre content is top notch, aiding
digestive transit.
3. What
about fat, cholesterol and salt?
This
section doesn't take long in reference to the baked potato. There is
no cholesterol, and basically no salt or fat. That's right, the baked
potato isn't hiding anything nasty, the flavour isn't driven by fat
and with creative toppings you can make it low fat and tasty. It's
great for your heart and for your health.
4. Baked
Potatoes are Vitamin Rich!
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| One of your 5 a day? |
People
forget that a potato is a vegetable, mostly because it usually isn't
counted in the fabled '5 a day' but actually, the potato holds it's
own in vitamin content. As a water based vegetable, it's limited in
fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, but that is the only limit. The
potato is the natural home of many B vitamins, including thamin,
niacin, B6 and folate. This means that the humble baked potato is
helpful for energy metabolism, fat processing, cellular function and
immunity. That's no mean feat for a food that is bad for you!
5. Baked Potatoes have loads of Minerals.
The potato continues to boost it's statistics in the mineral
department. In your large potato you get about one fifth of your RDA
of copper, iron, magnesium and phosphorus. So body processes like
nerve function and blood production are covered. You also get 46% of
your RDA of potassium, aiding your solute balance and ensuring you
are cramp free in your exercises. To top it off, you're also getting
a third of your RDA manganese, an antioxidant that boosts your
cellular processes and energy production.
What's
Bad?
The
short answer is, nothing is bad. The downside to the potato is that
is comes with fillings, and this is where many people pack in the
saturated fats, extra calories and sugars. But it doesn't need to be
that way.
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| What Do you Put on Top? |
What
Should Go On Top?
The
range of toppings is endless, from tuna with light mayonnaise to a
lean chilli con carne. But they are not the most adventurous
toppings, and here at FO-OD we would love to know what you would use
as a topping, so please add your thoughts in the comments below.
Follow
us on twitter at www.twitter.com/foodnutriblog
Happy
Eating...
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