There is perhaps no other staple food as globally ubiquitous as the potato. And if you dined on you favourite dish recently, chances are it may, in some way, contain the tuber — mashed, fried, roasted or in any other ways imaginable.
With the potato’s ever-present nature, its amazing health benefits may be something we easily take for granted. Besides its umami, slightly meaty taste that other vegetables and root crops could hardly equate, the potato’s nature as a storehouse of affordable carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals has made it become very popular across the globe — from its humble beginnings 8,000 years ago in the Central and South American regions.
So, in today’s article, frozen food supplier Mountain Harvest Foods highlights the potato’s nutritional contents to make you appreciate even more what this humble food has in store for you!
Potatoes are Rich in Vitamins and Minerals
Potatoes contain significant amounts of minerals such as manganese, magnesium, potassium and phosphorous. Other minerals found in moderate amounts include calcium, copper, iron and zinc. When it comes to vitamins, potatoes reign supreme in vitamin B6, vitamin C, folate and niacin. These tubers are also good sources of moderate amounts of vitamin K, riboflavin, pantothenic acid and thiamine.
One large potato (about 300 grams) contains enough dietary fibre to make up about 22% of the daily-recommended intake. The same holds true about its carbohydrates content, at about 20%.
But of all the vitamins and minerals the good old potato contains, vitamin B6 comes the most significant. Just one large potato (300 grams) is enough to provide about 40% of your recommended daily amount of Vitamin B6. So, with this nutritional information, let’s take a closer look at the following health benefits.
Potatoes Contain Blood-Pressure Lowering Compounds
A recent study from the Institute for Food Research in the United Kingdom has identified kukoamines, a group of compounds said to lower blood pressure. These natural chemicals were once though to be found only in Lycium Chinense, a deciduous shrub commonly named as the Chinese Matrimony Vine. This shrub, a native of China, contains significant amount of these kukoamines, which have been found to reduce blood pressure in the human body.
Rich in Vitamin B6, Potatoes Maintain Brain, Liver and Kidney Functions
Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) is a water-soluble vitamin that’s readily abundant in many food products, especially the potato. As we’ve mentioned, just one large piece of this tuber already gives you about 40% of your recommended daily intake. So, eating lots and lots of your favourite potato cake will surely make you reap many health benefits, one of which is brain health. The water-soluble vitamin B6 is essential for the normal production of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin and GABA. These brain chemicals, when imbalanced, lead to mental conditions such as depression. So, potatoes indeed do clear our minds after all.
Another interesting benefit of Vitamin B6 is regular liver and kidney function. The toxin-eliminating processes happening in these organs involve complex functions that call for no less than pyridoxine (B6) to keep liver and kidneys at their optimum performance. Some studies have shown that animals fed with pyridoxine-depleted diet develop liver dysfunctions in time.
Potatoes for Overall Health
Did you know that potatoes are also rich in Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)? Yes, these tubers can help combat common infections and other pathogens by boosting our immune system. And of course, ascorbic acid has been known to promote the growth of more collagen, the elastic tissue that makes our skin firm and supple. Thus, the potato makes us healthier inside while keeping us youthful and glowing on the outside.
Potatoes are also rich in potassium. In fact, on a per-serving basis, potatoes contain more of this mineral as compared with bananas. And as we know, potassium is very much essential for normal cardiovascular functioning. A lack of potassium in your diet could lead to irregular palpitations. In extreme cases, after severe diarrhoea, depleted potassium levels could be fatal.
Other Health Benefits
As if those all these good things about potatoes are not enough, certain varieties of potatoes like the Russet and the red-coloured ones contain high levels of flavonoid antioxidants and beta-carotene. These flavonoids, specifically quercetin and zeaxanthin, have been found to have potent anti-cancer and anti-tumour properties. And when they work in synergy with the already present vitamin C and Vitamin A in potatoes, the protection you get is worth every serving you consume on a daily basis.
Mountain Harvest Food’s Potato Cakes
Here’s the good news from the best frozen food manufacturer in Australia: Mountain Harvest Foods offer all-natural potato cakes that are not mashed — but sliced to perfection. The solid core of each of the slices means that all the nutrients that a potato should have are untouched and intact, and that there is no way that additives and preservatives could end up in each of the slices of frozen potato cakes we produce for our frozen food suppliers melbourne and wholesalers.
Thus, you get the full benefits from each slice of piece of these sumptuous treats. That’s how potato cakes should be!