Potatoes make you fat: true or false?
When it comes to foods that make you fat, it's easy to fall into clichés. Potatoes, for example, in some recipes may be fatter but this does not mean they should be excluded regardless of your daily diet. Did you know that many foods that you think are healthy and dietary actually hide surprises and could make you fat? Watch the video and find out how not to be fooled by seemingly light foods!
But are potatoes really fattening? Here are their properties
These tubers originating from South America are tasty and can be cooked in various ways: they are an inexpensive, but substantial and nutritious food. Potatoes are often present on the table as a side dish and considered as vegetables, even if doubly caloric, but due to the starch they contain, from a nutritional point of view they give an important contribution of carbohydrates and are comparable to refined cereals, although less energetic than these. Potatoes belong to the Solonaceae family like peppers, aubergines and tomatoes. Almost everyone likes potatoes, even as a first course, but many fear that they will make you fat and reluctantly do without them. Let's go deeper into the matter. Potatoes contain vitamin C, potassium and magnesium which counteract swelling and excess fluids and vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5 and B9, which stimulate a correct metabolism of sugars, fats and proteins. Potassium and magnesium contained in potatoes have vitalizing and toning properties, calm the feeling of hunger and help eliminate the sense of fatigue after physical activity. B vitamins reduce fatigue (vitamin B3); they help a good development of the fetus (vitamin B9; they prevent depression, irritability (vitamin B6); they are useful for the health and beauty of the skin and hair (vitamin B5); they improve the metabolism of sugars and fats (vitamins B1, B3 and B5); they increase red blood cells and regenerate them (vitamin B12). Potatoes, edible only when cooked, also have the ability to satiate, also because, in addition to fiber, they provide an amino acid that favors serotonin, which improves the "mood and gives a sense of satiety. This amino acid is tryptophan. Ripe potatoes have more calories than new ones. Don't overdo the quantity and don't eat them more than twice a week. The South American sweet potato, Ipomea batatas, a slightly longer, with peel and paste on the orange, it is part of the Convolvulaceae family, has a lower glycemic index and contains fiber, vitamins, minerals and carotenoids. The sweet potato owes this name to its sweet taste due to its abundance of carbohydrates; from a caloric point of view it is like the normal common potato, but it contains a lot of vitamin A. Furthermore, its fiber and micronutrient content make it an interesting and alternative food.
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How to consume potatoes so as not to gain weight?
Who then goes on a diet, poses a thousand problems. Can I make mashed potatoes, croquettes and dumplings or do I put on a few pounds? Do they make you fat baked in the oven with a little oil? Do I have to eat them by force? No food causes you to gain weight if cooked properly and eaten in moderate quantities. In short, without exaggerating. Eating potatoes boiled with a little extra virgin olive oil, cooled for a few hours, decreases the ability of the carbohydrates contained in food to raise blood sugar, or the glycemic index (GI) of starches; in this way there is no rapid production of insulin, the hormone that can produce weight gain, the appearance of diabetes and high cholesterol. Extra virgin olive oil (Evo) is very important in the diet, as it is obtained only from the pressing of healthy olives, which have not touched the ground, with mechanical procedures and without the addition of refined oils, present instead in the "olive oil".Combining them with fresh vegetables, which curb insulin peaks, and with a little extra virgin olive oil rich in omega 9, potatoes do not make you fat and, moreover, the fatty acids of extra virgin olive oil increase the sense of satiety. However, it is better not to associate them with other rapidly absorbed carbohydrates, such as pasta and bread. Boiled, baked or roasted potatoes more than a side dish correspond to a plate of pasta or a portion of bread, even if they have a much lower caloric density, a value, which in any case changes according to the cooking method.
When cooking boiled potatoes, the calories are low and therefore they can well enter a low-calorie diet compared to fried ones or those combined with other ingredients, such as with the addition of other ingredients such as in a puree or in a gateau. Cooked in the oven, the calories increase a little and even more in the potato croquettes, for the ingredients and for the frying cooking. The croquettes are tasty, but they absorb the oil during cooking and therefore are a little heavier and more caloric. If you are on a diet, it must be an occasional deviation from the rule. Gnocchi with sauce are obviously more caloric and with more carbohydrates than boiled potatoes and in addition the sauce with which they are seasoned must be added. In fact, a tablespoon of oil corresponds to 90-100 kcal. The mashed potatoes is a classic side dish in which milk, butter and parmesan are added to the potatoes, whose fats raise the calories. more food, in order not to feel hungry at the end of the day it is better to choose a less caloric meal.If you are careful about your diet during the week, you can also indulge in puree.
Potatoes make you fat: only in large quantities and with too much fat
In potatoes, many of the nutrients are found near the skin, but it is not good to eat it. Potatoes contain solanine: it is a substance that in large quantities can be toxic and is very concentrated in the peel of potatoes. When potatoes are grown organically, the amount of solanine is less than 30%. Since most of the solanine is concentrated in the peel, peeling the potatoes results in a drastic reduction of the alkaloid initially present. Potatoes can only be eaten if cooked. Large quantities of potatoes are not recommended for type 2 diabetic and High triglycerides. Potatoes can still be used as a side dish, combining them with a second course based on eggs or lean fish, cod, plaice, cuttlefish and squid; if they are cooked with too much fat, they should be eliminated from diets for obese subjects. to ferment, therefore they are contraindicated for gastric dilation; in small quantities they can be taken in case of gastritis. According to phytotherapy, potatoes protect the mucous membrane of the stomach and have emollient and diuretic properties. In addition, the presence of fibers improves intestinal and cardiovascular well-being. If we eat them instead of pasta and rice, we decrease the calories potatoes is 30% of that of pasta and rice. And, therefore, it cannot be said that potatoes are fattening, if consumed in moderate quantities and cooked in the right way (for example, not fried).
Potatoes are a good meal for those who practice sports, as they are high in carbohydrates and low in calories. In times of war and famine they were a food that guaranteed the survival of many people. They do not have a high protein content, they contain starch and no simple sugars and in addition to vitamins also minerals and micronutrients. They give the body the right dose of sodium and potassium, which promotes diuresis and therefore reduces water retention. Being low in sodium, they keep blood pressure regular and are healthy for the cardiovascular system. Zinc is also important, in when it helps to improve problems such as acne, osteoporosis and ocular disorders. The potato can therefore be inserted well in a balanced diet, if taken without sauces. It can also be associated with spinach, green beans, protein foods such as tuna.
A few more tips
The glycemic index of potatoes can heat or rise depending on the cooking method and the combination with other foods: it drops if they are cooked in the oven, rises if they are fried. And the same goes down if they replace the pasta dish, if they are not cooked for too long and if they are combined with the right foods, such as meat, eggs, fish.
If, on the other hand, they are eaten as a side dish after a first and second course, carbohydrates and calories go up and therefore can easily become a food that makes you gain weight. A right menu, therefore, can include steak, potatoes and salad, but if you choose with sauce and meat with potatoes you will have an excess of carbohydrates and an absence of vegetables. If cooked and eaten correctly, potatoes are also good for those who are overweight and follow a weight loss diet.
