Potatoes, the harm and benefits of which are actively discussed by both experts and ordinary people, have long taken a strong place in the menu of many Europeans. This also applies to post-Soviet countries, where it is called “second bread” and is actively used as side dishes for preparing main and even dietary dishes.
About the benefits of potatoes
If we consider the vegetable from a medical point of view, it has a lot of interesting properties. Firstly, tuber juice has anti-inflammatory properties. It is prescribed for both external and internal use in the treatment of various ulcers, purulent and other lesions. Due to its high potassium content, the vegetable is recommended for people with cardiovascular problems. The maximum amount of useful elements is in the peel, so for greater effect it is recommended not to peel the tubers before cooking. In the treatment of ailments associated with colds, potatoes are used for inhalations and compresses, and its puree is recommended for people with digestive tract problems.
The nutritional value
In most cases, potatoes are perceived not as a medicine, but as a food product. There are more than 50 thousand varieties of this plant in the world. They were bred by humans to provide food for the population. For this reason, potatoes are one of the key foods in America and Asia, Europe and Australia.
People are used to seeing this vegetable on their table literally every day. There are thousands of recipes that include potatoes. The harm and benefits of tubers largely depend on the method of their preparation. On the one hand, this vegetable is low in calories and contains a number of microelements necessary for humans. On the other hand, under certain conditions, toxic substances can accumulate in tubers. And with some types of heat treatment (for example, frying in oil) - carcinogens.
About the dangers of potatoes
If we consider the plant as a whole from a botanical point of view, then this annual shrub of the nightshade family is considered poisonous. In particular, this applies to the stem, flowers, as well as berries (similar to small green tomatoes) with seeds. However, only tubers are eaten. They are meant when they say “potatoes”. The harm and benefits of this part of the plant have been sufficiently studied to suggest that its consumption is absolutely safe. The exception is greened specimens, which may indeed be poisonous. For this reason, you should not store potatoes in the light, and when purchasing, you should carefully inspect each tuber, paying attention to the color.
When a vegetable is stored for a long time, the poison solanine accumulates in it. As a rule, its concentration reaches dangerous levels closer to spring, when the tubers begin to sprout. Therefore, when eating potatoes, starting from January, it is recommended to peel them (the poison is concentrated in the peel). Particular caution should be exercised by pregnant women, since solanine has a negative effect on the embryo and can lead to severe defects.
The harm of fried potatoes
As mentioned earlier, the benefits of this product largely depend on the method of its preparation. According to most nutritionists, it refers to dishes whose consumption is extremely undesirable. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, during the cooking process, the tubers absorb a lot of oil, which then ends up in the stomach. As a result, the dish turns out to be fatty and very high in calories. Secondly, fried food in itself is not very healthy. And thirdly, they usually consume it with a lot of salt and sauces, which are also quite harmful. For this reason, it is better to replace it with the benefits and harms of which are also ambiguous, but still most experts are inclined towards this method of preparation.
To minimize the negative impact of fried food on the body, it is necessary to adhere to certain rules in the process. And it is still better to use it in moderation.
How to fry potatoes correctly?
It turns out that this dish can be transferred from the class of “categorically harmful and prohibited” to the category of “not very recommended, but quite acceptable.” To do this, you need to follow a few not too complicated rules.
Firstly, you should not soak peeled and cut tubers in water, as some housewives recommend. Otherwise, most of the nutrients will remain in it, and potatoes will simply become a harmful snack.
Secondly, you can fry it exclusively in fresh, refined oil, which after cooking must be thrown away and not reused. Thirdly, first the potatoes are brought to a golden crust in a very hot frying pan, and then the heat is turned off and they continue to fry on low until done. You need to salt and add spices at the very end, when the dish is ready.
Boiled potatoes
This is one of the most common side dishes. Moreover, you can prepare it in several ways: puree, pieces or in “uniforms”. In all cases, you will get boiled potatoes. The benefits and harms will undoubtedly be different. The easiest option is to boil the peeled tubers in salted water, adding a few bay leaves and peppercorns. Potatoes are cooked, depending on the variety, from 10 to 25-30 minutes. Then you can grease it with a piece of butter and sprinkle with chopped herbs.
A healthier option is potatoes boiled in their skins. This way it retains the maximum of necessary elements. True, harmful ones also persist. So first, the tubers should be thoroughly washed and inspected for damage and greening.
It's even better if you steam the potatoes. This is perhaps the most useful way. Before cooking, you need to either wash it very well or peel it. Such tubers are suitable for salad, as a base for filling a pie or dumplings, and as an independent side dish.
Mashed potatoes
A favorite dish of children and adults, which is quite easy to prepare. It can be made dietary, using a minimum of spices and fat, or creamy and airy, with milk, butter and egg yolk. In the first case, the potatoes are simply boiled in salted water. Then it is crushed with a masher and brought to a puree state, adding liquid as necessary.
To make the dish tasty, while the potatoes are boiling, you can put a couple of bay leaves and a little peppercorns in the water. After all the pieces have been crushed, add butter and egg yolk, and bring to the desired condition with boiled milk. It turns out to be a very delicate tasty side dish.
How to cook
This dish is no longer called a side dish. It can be served both for dinner and during lunch. It is advisable to add other vegetables there. And if you stew it, it will turn out to be a real feast. During fasting and for those who are on a diet, it is better to limit yourself to the vegetable option. They are prepared in approximately the same way, except for the addition of meat.
For half a kilo of pork you will need one and a half kilograms of potatoes. You also take large carrots, a medium onion, vegetable oil, salt, bay leaf, peppercorns, and you can use other spices. A little greenery will also come in handy.
It doesn't hurt to marinate it before cooking. To do this, the pork is cut into small pieces (3x3 cm), salted, sprinkled with ground pepper, and other spices can be added. Then it is left for half an hour. During this time, you need to peel all the vegetables. Potatoes are filled with water to prevent them from darkening.
Pour vegetable oil into a cauldron or thick-bottomed pan and fry the meat in it until crusty. Then add coarsely chopped onions and carrots and continue to fry, stirring. When the vegetables begin to brown, the potatoes are cut into cubes equal in size to the meat and placed in a saucepan. Pour hot water so that it covers all the pieces, add bay leaf and peppercorns, simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes. At the end, the dish is salted to taste and sprinkled with chopped herbs.
This is how different potatoes can be. The harm and benefits of its use are sometimes slightly exaggerated. So in fact, everyone can use it. The main thing is to prepare it correctly and know when to stop.
Proponents of a healthy lifestyle try (sometimes unsuccessfully) to exclude potatoes from the diet: “second bread” is considered the cause of obesity, metabolic disorders and many other ills. However, there are nutritionists who, on the contrary, claim that potatoes are a valuable and very healthy product. Is it so? First, it’s worth understanding how consuming potatoes affects our body.
The benefits of potatoes
Scientists have discovered 14 amino acids in young potato tubers that are necessary to maintain the vital functions of the body.
Here are just some of the vitamins and microelements that regular potatoes can saturate our body with:
- Vitamin C is one of the most important vitamins. Its deficiency leads to tooth loss and premature aging of the skin. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that protects the body from negative environmental influences. It strengthens the walls of blood vessels, accelerates the process of tissue regeneration (including subcutaneous collagen) and improves immunity. 300 grams of new potatoes contain the daily dose;
- B vitamins, responsible for the condition of the skin and blood vessel walls;
- potassium is a trace element necessary for the functioning of the cardiovascular system and maintaining normal blood pressure levels. It has a diuretic effect, helps remove excess fluid from the body, so potatoes are useful for dropsy, swelling, and kidney problems. 500 grams of potatoes contain a daily dose of potassium;
- magnesium is a microelement necessary for protein synthesis in the body, as well as for tissue regeneration;
- selenium, which ensures the functioning of the thyroid gland. This trace element affects immune processes and prevents premature aging;
- calcium, necessary for the formation of bone tissue;
- folic acid, the presence of which determines proper cell division, DNA and RNA synthesis. It is especially needed by pregnant women.
As you can see, the list is very impressive, and the benefits of potatoes are undeniable. However, it should be noted that all these substances are contained in raw tubers, which you need to know how to cook correctly.
Cooking potatoes while preserving nutrients
100 grams of potatoes contain 80-85 kcal (the body's daily requirement is 1800-2400 kcal, depending on age, gender and occupation). Tubers contain a lot of starch, which is easily absorbed by the body and has an enveloping effect.
All the beneficial substances in potatoes are easily washed out with water. Therefore, after cleaning, the tubers should not be soaked for a long time, and when cooking, it is better to throw them into boiling water. The largest amount of vitamins and microelements is stored in baked potatoes or boiled potatoes with skins, “in their uniforms.” This is explained by the fact that the most useful part of the tuber is the one closest to the peel.
It is jacket potatoes that are recommended to be eaten in various diets. Moreover, the less salt and fat a potato dish contains, the healthier it is. If you absolutely cannot do without fat, it is best to season the boiled potatoes with olive oil or butter, perhaps with crushed garlic. Nutritionists recommend throwing 2-3 bay leaves into the pan when cooking tubers: then the dish will have a beneficial effect on the condition of the joints. Potatoes boiled with bay leaves are useful for people experiencing frequent headaches and tinnitus.
Jacket potatoes are the healthiest Unfortunately, French fries and a healthy lifestyle do not go together. But for lovers of fried foods, there is also a solution: the tubers can be grilled. Another way is to fry thinly sliced potatoes over high heat (preferably in olive oil) for 10 minutes, and then simmer for 10-15 minutes, covered, over low heat.
Use of potatoes in folk medicine
Traditional medicine has long appreciated the regenerating and wound-healing properties of potato tubers. So, for gastritis with high acidity, it is recommended to drink a glass of freshly squeezed potato juice on an empty stomach for 10 days in the morning. The course of treatment should be repeated 2-3 times. The break between courses is 10 days. But you need to take into account that the juice loses its therapeutic effect within 10-15 minutes after squeezing. It is better not to clean the tubers before squeezing, but simply wash them well with a brush.
Freshly squeezed potato juice also helps with pancreatitis. In this case, it is necessary to drink a mixture of 100 g of potato and 100 g of carrot juice three times a day for 5-7 days, half an hour before meals. After a month, the course can be repeated.
Mashed potatoes, thanks to the starch it contains, have a beneficial effect on gastritis and digestive disorders. Baked potatoes, which contain a lot of potassium, are recommended for patients undergoing rehabilitation after a heart attack or stroke.
The recipe of the famous healer Father George for getting rid of gallstones is widely known. It is necessary to boil a kilogram of potatoes in 6 liters of water for 3-4 hours. When half the water has evaporated, mash the potatoes and leave them in the water overnight to allow the mixture to settle. In the morning, the liquid is drained and the sediment is discarded. The resulting liquid is taken 2 tablespoons half an hour before meals for 40 days.
Steam inhalation of freshly boiled potatoes is a proven remedy for coughs, colds and bronchitis.
For those who want to lose weight, we can recommend the potato diet: for three days you need to eat 500 g of boiled potatoes “in their uniforms” or baked potatoes in their skins without salt and fat. As a result, you will lose up to three kilograms of excess weight.
External use of potatoes
Raw potato gruel has an antiseptic, wound-healing and regenerating effect on the skin. Raw potato masks are useful at any age. They help with irritations, juvenile acne, and boils. Vitamin C contained in tubers is a powerful antioxidant. Therefore, grated raw potatoes are simply a balm for tired or aging skin. Potato masks are a good way to lift and smooth out fine wrinkles.
A grated potato mask helps in many situations This remedy also helps with swelling under the eyes. Many Hollywood actors and directors who lead a bohemian lifestyle, in order to hide traces of a hangover, start their mornings with a potato mask. If you don’t have time, you can not even grate the potatoes, but take two thin slices and apply them to your eyelids for 20 minutes.
It’s just important not to overdo it: grated potatoes are an aggressive substance. To avoid irritation on the delicate skin of your face, it is better to first try the mask on your wrist. For those for whom masks made from raw potatoes are not suitable, it is recommended to make weaker masks from boiled potatoes.
Grated raw potatoes are a proven remedy for corns. In this case, it is mixed in equal proportions with grated onion, and the resulting mass is placed in socks in the evening. By morning, the skin on the legs softens to such an extent that it can be removed without problems.
Potato damage
Still, potatoes can be harmful. As already mentioned, French fries are a real test for the body, practically poison. Also, you should not eat old, wrinkled tubers that have already sprouted: such potatoes accumulate poison - solanine, which causes diarrhea and vomiting. If the tubers were stored in the light and turned green, it is best to throw them away or, as a last resort, carefully cut off the green areas.
It is not recommended to abuse potatoes for patients with serious forms of diabetes: starch is harmful to such people. Can you get better from potatoes? Of course you can! If you eat more than 300-500 grams of it per day, and even fried with fat or meat. Over time, lovers of such dishes will inevitably experience metabolic disorders.
Potatoes containing excessive amounts of nitrates are very harmful. But homemade potatoes, lovingly grown, boiled or baked with skins, provide only benefits for the body.
People who eat fried potatoes at least twice a week double their risk of early death. This is exactly what the authors of an article published in the American Journal of Clinical Dietetics say. At the same time, eating potatoes in any other form does not lead to a reduction in life, scientists say. They make very serious arguments. Maybe it’s really worth switching to puree?
“Fried potato consumption is increasing around the world,” says Dr. Nicolas Veronese, lead author of the paper and a research scientist at the National Research Council in Padua, Italy. In 2014, according to statistics, people in the United States alone consumed 15 kilos of French fries per person per year. Veronese's team studied 4,400 people with arthritis, aged 45 to 79, and concluded that fried potatoes were harmful to health. This study was one of the few that opened people's eyes to how and how harmful fried potatoes are to the body.
The researchers divided study participants into groups based on how often they ate potatoes. During the year, 236 study participants died. Analyzing the data for each group, Veronese and his colleagues found that those who ate fried potatoes 2-3 times a week were twice as likely to die early as those who did not eat fried potatoes. The type of frying didn't matter—french fries, hash browns, and regular fried potatoes had the same effect. At the same time, according to research, men consumed fried potatoes more often than women, and young people - more often than older people. Based on the results of the study, it cannot yet be said that frequent consumption of fried potatoes leads to early mortality - more research is needed to make such a definite conclusion. But there is definitely some dependence here. “We believe that the oil in fried potatoes, which is rich in trans fats, is a contributing factor to early mortality,” says Veronese. – Trans fats contribute to increased levels of “bad” cholesterol in the blood, which directly leads to cardiovascular diseases.
According to Veronese, the tendency for early mortality among fried potato eaters may be explained by the fact that they are generally characterized by a tendency to excess salt intake, a sedentary lifestyle and obesity. However, this wording also confused representatives of the General Council of Potato Growers of the United States. The organization's president, John Keeling, said the study's results were skewed because it only included patients with arthritis. According to Keeling, “Potatoes are an extremely healthy vegetable because they are low in calories. In addition, it has no fat, no salt, no cholesterol, but one medium potato contains a quarter of the daily value of vitamin C and more potassium than a banana.
According to Keeling, the potato was simply a victim of black PR. Suzanne Larsen, associate professor at the Institute of Environmental Medicine, agrees: “In Western countries, excessive potato consumption is often considered a sign of unhealthy eating habits. Suzanne Larsen, who also conducted a study on potatoes and stated that this habit has nothing to do with early mortality, agrees.”
Most of our compatriots are question: “What kind of potato dishes do you like?”, they will answer: “Fried or French fries.” In fact, these are the most harmful cooking methods; nutritionists recommend baking or boiling potatoes in their skins to preserve their beneficial properties and not harm your health. But we are more accustomed to frying potatoes in oil with onions, so that a crispy crust will certainly form.
Here is the method for preparing fried potatoes with a crispy crust: pour refined sunflower oil into a frying pan and fry finely chopped onion in it, then place potatoes cut into slices or strips into the heated oil on top of the onion. Salt the potatoes, stir and fry them over high heat for 5 minutes without covering the pan lid. Then reduce the heat, close the lid and fry the potatoes over low heat until the end. Sprinkle the potatoes with herbs and serve. This is a dish that is familiar and accessible to us Russians. Unfortunately, the familiar is rarely seen as harmful.
Despite the fact that refuse delicious fried Potatoes, which quickly cope with the feeling, are quite difficult, do not forget that this dish is very high in calories and has a negative effect on weight and health. It is the delicious crispy crust of fried potatoes that contains many harmful substances that are not broken down by digestive enzymes. When potatoes are fried in hot fat, a carcinogenic substance is formed - acrylamide, which affects the nervous system and increases the risk of cancer, infertility and gene mutation. It is especially dangerous to fry potatoes in margarine and butter.
What to do if you love fried food so much? potatoes, that you can’t even imagine how you can completely abandon it? In this case, try to neutralize the harmful effects of carcinogens by eating plenty of vegetables, fruits and greens rich in antioxidants. An alternative to fried potatoes can be the following healthier dish: cut the peeled potatoes into strips, add salt and pepper, add a head of chopped onion and pour in a little olive oil. Mix well and place the potatoes on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
Today it is fashionable to take care of being slim figures by following different diets. Because of this, many people deliberately exclude potato dishes from their diet for fear of gaining extra pounds. But only fried potatoes are harmful to your figure, but boiled ones contain only 80 kcal per 100 grams. potatoes. For comparison: 100 gr. rice will add 350 kcal to your menu, the same amount of buckwheat - 360 kcal, and 100 gr. pasta - 380 kcal. Therefore, including boiled or baked potatoes as a side dish on the menu cannot harm your figure, but can only help improve your health without depriving yourself of the pleasure of eating your favorite vegetable.
Potato tuber consists of from 75% water, 18% starch, 2% protein, 2% ash and nitrogenous compounds. Potato dishes are high in fiber, carbohydrates and proteins. Potatoes are famous for their antispasmodic and diuretic effects. Thanks to the fairly high potassium content, which removes excess water from the body, potatoes can improve heart function, strengthen and cleanse the walls of blood vessels, and get rid of swelling and bags under the eyes. Potato tubers contain a lot of vitamin PP and B, which help cope with fatigue, stress, insomnia and irritability.
Potato juice normalizes the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, it is recommended to drink it for stomach ulcers, gastritis, heartburn, liver diseases and constipation. To treat hemorrhoids, potato suppositories are used, which are cut from a raw tuber and inserted into the anus. Potatoes have excellent anti-inflammatory and healing properties. Pieces of fresh potatoes are applied to sore spots for burns, eczema and cracked heels, and inhaling the vapors of potatoes boiled with peel helps with obstructive bronchitis, laryngitis and other diseases of the upper respiratory tract.
Recommends to eat salad from raw potatoes, grated, to ease the effects of a hangover and relieve. Fresh potatoes contain a lot of vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant that boosts immunity and protects the skin from aging. As you know, this vitamin is very fragile; with long-term storage and improper cooking, it is quickly destroyed.
Therefore it is much more useful pamper themselves with young boiled potatoes, and old tubers with sprouts lose all their vitamins by spring. In order for more vitamin C to be retained in the prepared dish, the potatoes must be properly processed and cooked. To do this, adhere to the following rules:
1. Drop the tubers when cooking not in cold, but in boiling water. The water should only cover the potatoes.
2. It is best to boil and bake potatoes “in their jackets”. If you want to peel it, then cut it as thin as possible, since it is next to the potato peel that the bulk of useful vitamins and minerals are concentrated.
3. Don't leave it Store peeled potatoes by covering them with water.
4. Boil tubers whole, without cutting them. Do not overcook the potatoes, and when they are cooked, immediately drain the broth.
Try it raw potato and it is impossible to determine its taste, so you need to choose this vegetable by appearance. The most delicious potatoes are crumbly ones; they grow on sandy soils. If the tubers are dirty, then this indicates that the potatoes grew on clay soil. Such potatoes are inferior in taste to “clean” ones, but they do not boil over. Don't eat potatoes if they are green or soapy. This suggests that it contains a lot of toxic substances - corned beef and nitrates, due to improper storage in the light and cultivation using large amounts of mineral fertilizers.
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The calorie content of fried potatoes per 100 grams is quite high and amounts to 191 kcal. 100 g of dish contains:
- 2.9 g protein;
- 9.4 g fat;
- 23.5 g carbohydrates.
Fried potatoes are rich in fiber, carbohydrates, proteins, albumin, protein, and globulin. Despite the heat treatment, the dish retains a lot of malic and oxalic acid, vitamins B, A, E, K, minerals calcium, potassium, phosphorus, and sodium.
The calorie content of fried potatoes in vegetable oil is too high to consume this dish while dieting and losing weight. It is important to remember that potato root vegetables contain a lot of starch, which is quickly deposited in fat folds.
To reduce the starch concentration in potatoes, before consuming them, raw potato slices should be soaked in water before frying.
Due to their high fat content, fried potatoes should be avoided if you have diseases of the liver, gall bladder, or pancreas.
Calorie content of fried potatoes with mushrooms per 100 grams
Calorie content of fried potatoes with mushrooms per 100 grams is 121 kcal. Per 100 gram serving:
- 2.4 g protein;
- 7.3 g fat;
- 12.6 g carbohydrates.
Recipe for fried potatoes with mushrooms:
- Peel 0.5 kg of potatoes, cut into thin slices;
- lightly fry the potatoes in vegetable oil, add chopped champignons (you need 200 g of mushrooms);
- Add squeezed garlic (1 clove) to the finished dish.
Calorie content of fried potatoes with onions per 100 grams
Calorie content of fried potatoes with onions per 100 grams is 183 kcal. A 100 gram serving contains:
- 3.2 g protein;
- 8.7 g fat;
- 25.8 g carbohydrates.
Fried potatoes with onions are contraindicated if you are overweight, while on a diet, or with exacerbations of cholecystitis, pancreatitis, or pancreatic diseases. It is recommended to avoid this dish if you are prone to constipation and flatulence.
The benefits of fried potatoes
The benefit of fried potatoes lies in the diuretic and antispasmodic properties of the dish. Potatoes fried in vegetable oil contain potassium, which helps remove excess fluid from the body.
The dish is rich in pectin and fiber, which improves digestion and cleanses the gastrointestinal tract of toxins. Slightly less than 3% of potatoes contain beneficial amino acids.
The harm of fried potatoes
Fried potatoes have a lot of contraindications. If you have chronic or acute diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, you will have to refuse this dish.
During frying, potatoes absorb a large amount of vegetable oil. Fried oils increase blood cholesterol and are quickly stored in fat.
A considerable amount of salt is added to fried potatoes. Otherwise the dish will be bland. Salt is harmful for diseases of the heart, blood vessels, impaired exchange of water and salts in the body, and a tendency to edema.
