Originally published July 24 2005
Altered potatoes contribute to obesity epidemic (but plain potatoes remain good for you)
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
According to editors of the UC Berkeley Wellness Letter, potato products are a huge source of fat in American diets. The potato itself isn't bad, but many Americans fry them or cover them in high-calorie ingredients like cheese, butter, sour cream or mayonnaise.
Say the word potato and chances are you think of fatty, high-calorie foods, such as French fries, hash browns, and potato salad.
The fact is, for most Americans, potato means French Fries, and that's a big problem.
Fried potatoes are the number-one source of trans fats in the American diet, so they're not only bad for your waistline; they're bad for your heart.
In the words of the Wellness Letter, they are "a nutritious, inexpensive, and not particularly fattening food."
The editors say it's "one of the best sources of potassium, beating bananas handily."
Potatoes are also packed with B vitamins (especially folate which can prevent birth defects), vitamin C, and iron.
Just remember, you need to eat the whole potato - skin and all - to get all these nutrients.
A medium-sized baked potato only has 135 calories, which means it has more calories per ounce than most vegetables, but the as the Wellness Letter points out, it has "less than half as many as bread, and fewer calories than rice."
It also has 4 grams of fiber, and virtually no fat.
But add 2 tablespoons of butter or margarine and the calorie count jumps to 335 and the fat soars to 22 grams!
So skip the fries and top that baked potato with non-fat or low-fat sour cream or yogurt.
You might also want to try some salsa or some leftover steamed vegetables.
Some have colorful skin; others have colorful flesh.
Ever see a potato with blue skin or one that's purple inside?
Research shows that potatoes with a deep red or purple-colored flesh can have the same amount of antioxidants as spinach or Brussels sprouts.
"That's chlorophyll," the Wellness Letter explains, "a sign that the potato has been exposed to too much light after harvest."
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