Potatoes will help in the fight against extra pounds

According to the researchers, people tend to eat foods of the same weight to feel full — no matter how many calories they contain.

Thus, those who add a dense vegetable to their plate become fuller and therefore do not look for other foods that may be more caloric. Potatoes contain about 80 calories per 100 g – twice as much as other vegetables like carrots or broccoli. It contains only fewer calories than bread, pasta and rice of the same weight. However, nutritionists did not approve the use of fried potatoes or chips – this method of cooking reduces the nutritional value of potatoes.

Study co-author Professor Candida Rebello, a dietitian at the Pennington Center for Biomedical Research in Baton Rouge, Louisiana: “People tend to eat the same weight of food regardless of calorie content to feel full. By eating heavier foods, you can easily reduce your calorie intake. A key aspect of our study is that we did not reduce the portion size of meals, but reduced their calorie content by including potatoes. Each participant’s meals were tailored to their individual calorie needs, however, by replacing some of the meat with potatoes, the participants felt fuller and often didn’t even finish their lunch. Basically, you can lose weight without much effort.”

Potatoes are considered not healthy food, although they are a tuber – a kind of root crop.

But since the weight of a food is a factor in how much people eat, the researchers believe that legumes, which are known to control blood glucose levels, may have the same health benefits.

The nutritionists recruited 36 people aged 18 to 60 who were overweight, obese, or had insulin resistance—when the body has difficulty absorbing glucose from the blood. During the eight-week study, all participants ate 85 grams of meat or fish for lunch and dinner, or 57 grams of potatoes or 57 grams of boiled legumes with bread, rice, or pasta. Both diets were high in fruits and vegetables, and the volunteers replaced 40% of their usual meat intake with their allotted vegetable side dishes.

Those who ate potatoes boiled them without their skins and then chilled them in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours – the cooling process increases the fiber content and helps lower blood glucose levels.

Potatoes were included for lunch and dinner either mashed or baked in the oven.

The results were published in the journal Medicine Food. It turned out that the diets contained the same health benefits – regardless of whether people ate potatoes or legumes. Those who ate potatoes lost an average of 5.8 kg, while those on a diet that included beans averaged about 4 kg. Both groups showed improvement in insulin resistance.

Professor Rebello: “We have demonstrated that, contrary to popular belief, potatoes do not have a negative effect on blood glucose levels. In fact, the participants even lost weight. People generally don’t go on a diet they don’t like. Therefore, our meal plan included a variety of dishes, and we proved that a healthy meal plan can include both potatoes and legumes. Plus, potatoes are a fairly inexpensive vegetable to include in your daily diet.”

Christina DENISYUK.

Photo: Shutterstock /sasazawa