I just cannot get my mind around this fear of whole plant food carbohydrates. Yes absolutely, gram for gram spinach packs a much more potent nutritional punch, but to me (a vegan who is not trying to lose weight) potatoes seem like a healthy way of getting needed calories. One would have to eat about 5-6x the weight in spinach to get similar calories. Like you said, it shouldn't really be an either or question. Plus, spinach and potato taste great together! From
worlds healthiest foods....Potatoes are a very popular food source. Unfortunately, most people eat potatoes in the form of greasy French fries or potato chips, and even baked potatoes are typically loaded down with fats such as butter, sour cream, melted cheese and bacon bits. Such treatment can make even baked potatoes a potential contributor to a heart attack. But take away the extra fat and deep frying, and a baked potato is an exceptionally healthful low calorie, high fiber food that offers significant protection against cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Our food ranking system qualified potatoes as a very good source of vitamin C, a good source of vitamin B6, copper, potassium, manganese, and dietary fiber.
Potatoes also contain a variety of phytonutrients that have antioxidant activity. Among these important health-promoting compounds are carotenoids, flavonoids, and caffeic acid, as well as unique tuber storage proteins, such as patatin, which exhibit activity against free radicals.
Potatoes' Phytochemicals Rival Those in Broccoli
Potatoes' reputation as a high-carb, white starch has removed them from the meals of many a weight-conscious eater, but this stereotype is due for a significant overhaul. A new analytical method developed by Agricultural Research Service plant geneticist Roy Navarre has identified 60 different kinds of phytochemicals and vitamins in the skins and flesh of 100 wild and commercially grown potatoes. Analysis of Red and Norkotah potatoes revealed that these spuds' phenolic content rivals that of broccoli, spinach and Brussels sprouts, and includes flavonoids with protective activity against cardiovascular disease, respiratory problems and certain cancers. Navarre's team also identified potatoes with high levels of vitamin C, folic acid, quercetin and kukoamines. These last compounds, which have blood pressure lowering potential, have only been found in one other plant, Lycium chinense (a.k.a., wolfberry/gogi berry). How much kukoamine is needed for a blood pressure lowering effect in humans must be assessed before it can be determined whether an average portion of potatoes delivers enough to impact cardiovascular health. Still, potatoes' phytochemical profiles show it's time to shed their starch-only image; spuds-baked, steamed or healthy sautéed but not fried-deserve a place in your healthy way of eating."Phytochemical Profilers Investigate Potato Benefits,"Agricultural Research, September 2007
Blood-Pressure Lowering Potential
UK scientists at the Institute for Food Research have identified blood pressure-lowering compounds called kukoamines in potatoes. Previously only found in Lycium chinense, an exotic herbal plant whose bark is used to make an infusion in Chinese herbal medicine, kukoamines were found in potatoes using a new type of research called metabolomics.
Until now, when analyzing a plant's composition, scientists had to know what they were seeking and could typically look for 30 or so known compounds. Now, metabolomic techniques enable researchers to find the unexpected by analyzing the 100s or even 1000s of small molecules produced by an organism.
"Potatoes have been cultivated for thousands of years, and we thought traditional crops were pretty well understood," said IFR food scientist Dr Fred Mellon, "but this surprise finding shows that even the most familiar of foods might conceal a hoard of health-promoting chemicals." Another good reason to center your diet around the World's Healthiest Foods!
In addition to potatoes, researchers looked at tomatoes since they belong to the same plant family-Solanaceae-as Lycium chinense. Metabolomic assays also detected kukoamine compounds in tomatoes.
The IFR scientists found higher levels of kukoamines and related compounds than some of the other compounds in potatoes that have a long history of scientific investigation. However, because they were previously only noted in Lycium chinense, kukoamines have been little studied. Researchers are now determining their stability during cooking and dose response (how much of these compounds are needed to impact health)....
Potato, baked, with skin
1.00 cup
122.00 grams
132.98 calories
Nutrient Amount DV
(%) Nutrient
Density World's Healthiest
Foods Rating
vitamin C 15.74 mg 26.2 3.6 very good
vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) 0.42 mg 21.0 2.8 good
copper 0.37 mg 18.5 2.5 good
potassium 509.96 mg 14.6 2.0 good
manganese 0.28 mg 14.0 1.9 good
tryptophan 0.04 g 12.5 1.7 good
dietary fiber 2.93 g 11.7 1.6 good
World's Healthiest
Foods Rating Rule
excellent DV>=75% OR Density>=7.6 AND DV>=10%
very good DV>=50% OR Density>=3.4 AND DV>=5%
good DV>=25% OR Density>=1.5 AND DV>=2.5%
http://www.whfoods.c...ritionalprofile
I didn't say all "junk carbs" were necessarily bad (unless of course you're trying to lose weight, or are a vegan trying to optimize your protein percentage), simply inferior compared to the alternatives. Compare the amounts of most common micronutrients found in one large apple or potato (say 200 grams), with the equivalent weight of spinach for example. The first two are probably the most commonly consumed whole plant foods in the Western World, and their nutritional value is often further decreased through peeling, overcooking / frying (potatoes), etc. The micronutrient density of what a study would count as "a serving of vegetables" can vary drastically! Of course variety is essential and apples / potatoes have some unique qualities and should not be excluded from the diet entirely, but there is substantial value in optimizing your food choices by their overall nutritional value.
Edited by Application, 12 April 2010 - 02:04 AM.