Many people mistakenly associate potatoes with obesity and weight gain. They are a great source of nutrition and help to combat malnutrition and starvation around the world.
However, how you prepare potatoes can have a significant impact on their nutritional value as well as their health effects.
This article focuses on the health benefits of baked potatoes.
Baked Potatoes Nutrition Facts
Potatoes contain a wide range of micronutrients and macronutrients that are essential for good health.
A medium-sized baked potato skinless weighs in at 173g and contains the following nutrients:
- Calories: 161
- Carbs 37g
- Fiber: 3.0 grams
- Protein: 4.3 grams
- Fat 0.2 Grams
- Vitamin A6: 25% daily value (DV).
- Potassium 26%
- Vitamin A: 27% DV
- Folate 12% DV
- Magnesium 12%
A Fair Amount Of Fiber Is Also Found In Potatoes, Most Notably In The Skin.
Even though potatoes aren’t a high-protein food, they have high levels of protein due to their amino acids.
Amino acids are the building blocks for proteins. Potatoes contain high amounts of essential amino acids like lysine and methionine.
Potatoes are rich in iron and zinc, both essential for your body’s oxygen transport and immune function.
The macronutrient content of potatoes can be greatly affected by cooking methods, especially when it comes to their fat content.
A 100g serving of fried potatoes contains 14 grams of fat. Comparatively, a 100-gram serving of fried potatoes contains just 14 grams of fat.
You should also consider how you prepare potatoes to reduce micronutrient loss.
Potatoes, for example, have a lot of vitamin C. But, microwave baked potato has twice as much.
Health Benefits
Here are some health benefits baked potato offers:
Helps To Control Appetite
Potatoes are very filling and can help you control your appetite. This will aid in weight loss if this is something that you want.
Studies have shown that potatoes provide a greater feeling of fullness than other carb-rich foods.
It could be caused by a naturally occurring molecule in potatoes called protease inhibitor II (PI2) which can suppress appetite and reduce food intake.
Specifically, PI2 blocks an enzyme that degrades a hormone called cholecystokinin. This hormone decreases the hunger and causes feelings of fullness. This causes an increase in blood CCK levels, which leads to a decrease in food intake
CCK levels high CCK can also slow down the rate at which your stomach empties its contents. This promotes feelings of fullness.
People often take PI2 to help with weight loss because of its appetite-control effects.
A study of 44 healthy women found that eating 15 to 30 mg of PI2 an hour before breakfast led to lower hunger and cravings, as well as higher satisfaction after meals.
It May Help Manage Blood Sugar Levels
The rich source of resistant starch, as well as potassium, is potatoes
It has the same effect as dietary fiber: it lowers blood sugar and improves insulin sensitivity.
Resistant starch also lowers the glycemic index (GI). After you eat carb-containing foods, the GI measures how they affect your blood sugar levels.
High GI foods can spike blood sugar levels, while low GI foods promote steady, controlled increases.
Freshly cooked potatoes have a high GI, but chilled potatoes have a lower GI. This is due to starch retrogradation which makes starches more difficult to digest when they are cold.
Other than temperature, potato’s resistant starch content can also be affected by the cooking method. Research has shown that baked potatoes are more resistant to starch than boiled potatoes.
One study found that participants had lower blood sugar levels after eating baked potatoes 90 minutes after their meal than mashed potatoes, French fries, and white bread.
Research has also shown that potatoes’ potassium levels can help improve insulin production and sensitivity.
Baked potatoes are more potassium-rich than boiled potatoes. This is because some potassium is released from the potato during boiling and goes into the water.