Potatoes: properties, benefits, use and contraindications

Native to the Andes, potatoes are rich in phosphorus, potassium, vitamins and starches, they are also very digestible and promote intestinal functions.

 

What do we know about potatoes? 

That, after their arrival in Europe around 1570, the spread of cultivation was slow, the church banned them because "fruit of the devil" since they grew underground and that the potato was not mentioned in the Bible; that the King of Prussia had them cultivated to save the people from famine and that French fries were invented, it seems, by mistake.

But there are also many doubts about potatoes: 

Do they make you fat? 

Can everyone eat them? 

What are their health benefits?

Their discovery was a real revolution, since then European cuisine has never been the same again (initial mistrust permitting). In Germany it was considered a truffle and with the passage of time it became more and more a popular food, of the lower classes. Potatoes are not all the same, they can be yellow, white-fleshed, with red skin and purple pulp. It is essential to avoid buying sprouted sprouts and obviously do not consume the sprouts and green parts that are toxic. They lend themselves to different culinary and non-culinary uses, since they can also be used as natural remedies.

Potatoes: properties and benefits

Are potatoes good or bad? 

Eating too many is not a good idea because they raise blood sugars and obviously eating them fried proves to be counterproductive for health, fatigue the liver and turn you into extra pounds.

Here's what potatoes contain: water 79%, protein 2%, starch 15%, sugars 0.8%, fiber 2.2%, amino acids (aspartic and glutamic acid, alanine, arginine, cystine, glycine, phenylalanine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, proline, methionine, serine, tyrosine, tryptophan, valine and threonine), vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, C, K, J and mineral salts (magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorus, copper, selenium, sodium, zinc, calcium and manganese).

Given the nutrients, consuming them boiled or baked in foil does not hurt, indeed.

Let's see the benefits and properties of potatoes:

They are restorative and very nutritious, ideal against stress, fatigue and asthenia, counter act hypertension, they are rich in antioxidants, therefore excellent for preventing free radical damage, they are allies of the skin, they help preserve a good memory, they are diuretic and depurative, counter act water retention and the formation of kidney stones, they are anti-anemic because they are rich in iron.

have a good availability of folic acid, they reconcile sleep and calm the nerves, relieve nervous cough, they are mildly laxative so an ideal food for those suffering from constipation, they help counter act inflammation of the digestive system and improve the functionality of the immune system they help keep our skeleton healthy, and are hepatic protective they help fight heart and rheumatic diseases. It also seems that the alkaloids ciconine and solanine, contained in potatoes, are able to counteract the growth of cancer cells.

''Being rich in starches, potatoes provide the liver with the energy it needs to perform its detoxifying function in the best way.'' Explains Dr. Anna d'Eugenio a nutritionist in Rome.