When You Eat Potatoes Every Day, This Is What Happens!

Vitamin C, potassium, magnesium… we often ignore it but the potato is full of benefits.

And that’s good since it is an essential product in the diet of the French who consume 50 kg of it each year.

Protective role

Despite its “anti-diet” reputation, the potato offers the characteristic benefits of a vegetable: its vitamins, made up of antioxidants and fibre, play a protective role in health.

This is particularly the case of the red and purple varieties which contain antioxidants flavonoids (anthocyanins), lutein and zeaxanthin.

The potato is above all an interesting source of complex carbohydrates, which provide lasting energy to the body and allow you to feel full longer.

Nutrients

It also provides a significant amount of nutrients including potassium, essential since it is involved in many vital functions (liver, kidneys, heart, etc.)

Thus, a medium baked potato (without the skin) contains 610 milligrams of potassium, or 13% of the recommended daily intake where a medium banana contains only 422 milligrams, or 9%. And the potato also contains fewer calories.

Additionally, potatoes contain the second highest levels of choline, which is vital to consume as it is essential for good brain, nerve and muscle health.

It is also for its vitamin B6 content, which is linked to good mental health, that we recommend eating potatoes: a small potato contains about a quarter of the recommended daily intake of vitamin B6 for an adult.

And citrus fruits are not the only source of vitamin C: on average, a small potato (150 g) contains about 15% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin C, a source of antioxidants and which is essential for the support of immune function.

Finally, the potato is a source of resistant starch – a type of fiber “resistant” to digestion by human intestinal enzymes. By acting as a prebiotic, the potato nourishes the bacteria in our intestines and keeps them healthy.

Serious diseases

Be careful, however, not to eat it in the form of fries, whose high fat content is a factor in increasing the risk of serious diseases, such as certain cancers, obesity, diabetes or neurodegenerative pathologies… more than acrylamide, a substance developed by the potato when it is fried at too high a temperature, is also suspected of being carcinogenic, reports Médisite.

It is better to opt for a cooking method without fat and choose them organic to be able to consume them with the skin and benefit from all their benefits.