Contrary to popular belief, potatoes can be a miracle food for people who want to lose weight. Explanations.
- Vitamins B6 and C, potassium, magnesium, antioxidants… Potatoes are full of good nutrients for your health. The French consume about 50 kg per year.
- With 2.1 million tonnes exported per year, France is the world’s leading exporter of potatoes.
They would promote Type 2 diabetes, would make you gain weight, would have too high a level of carbohydrates… Potatoes have acquired a bad reputation over time. Yet they’re packed with essential nutrients, packed with health benefits and can be incorporated into a healthy diet, according to a new study published in the journal Journal of Medicinal Food.
A potato diet could lead to weight loss
To reach these conclusions, researchers at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana (USA) asked 36 volunteers aged 18 to 60 who were overweight, obese or insulin resistant (i.e. glucose does not enter the cells to produce energy, hence the risk of hypertension, cholesterol and diabetes). They made them follow two distinct diets: either beans and peas, or white potatoes in different so-called healthy forms (boiled, mashed… in short, without fat), both diets being accompanied by meat/ fish and fruits and vegetables to achieve a balanced diet.
After several weeks of observation, the researchers found that “the two types of diet had substantially equivalent health benefits” in terms of nutrients (vitamins, minerals, fibre, etc.). “We have demonstrated that contrary to popular belief, potatoes do not have a negative impact on blood sugar levels. In fact, people who participated in our study lost weight”says dietitian Candida Rebello, lead author of the research, in a communicated.
Reduce calories rather than portions
“People tend to eat the same weight of food, regardless of calorie content, in order to feel full, explains the researcher. However, by eating heavier but lower calorie foods, you can easily reduce the number of calories you consume. The key aspect of our study is that we did not reduce the portion sizes of the meals, but reduced their caloric content by including potatoes.” It is therefore possible to lose weight by continuing to eat potatoes (not in the form of fries, of course).
