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Kamis, 21 Juli 2016

10 Health Benefits of Potatoes

Potatoes are one of the most common foods and many people know him in the world, and potatoes also contain many health benefits which makes them all the more important as a staple food item for most of the world's population.

The health benefits include their ability to lower cholesterol, improve digestion, improve heart health, cancer prevention, manage diabetes, strengthens the immune system, reducing the signs of aging, protect the skin, improve circulation, reduce blood pressure, improve eye health and reduce insomnia and others.

Besides potatoes have become an alternative medicine to cure diabetes (diabetes) used by traditional healers and herbal medicine. Because the content of potatoes which has the function of neutralizing various bacteria and germs that enter the body. If processed in any form, the content of the potatoes will not disappear at all. Because the temperature levels in potatoes does not change.
Potatoes source Image stateschronicle.com
Nutritional Value of Potatoes
Existing content in the potato is composed of 70% nutrition and 30% other substances. Other substances such as proteins, carbohydrates, calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium, vitamins and other minerals. The content of these potatoes could be used as benchmarks menu daily meals to consume it because it is good for health in the body. Thus it was the consumption of potatoes in any form.

Health Benefits of Potatoes

1. Keeping Skin Care - Vitamin-C and B complex and minerals like potassium, magnesium, phosphorus and zinc are good for the skin. In addition, the pulp obtained from crushed raw potatoes, mixed with honey, can work well on skin and facial package. It even helps cure acne and spots on the skin. Again, this pulp, if applied externally on burns, provide quick relief and faster healing. smashed potatoes, and even the water that potatoes have been washed, very good to soften and cleanse the skin, especially around the elbows, and the back of your hand.

2. Rheumatism - There are two parts to the effect of potatoes on this condition. Vitamins like the magnesium and calcium in potatoes help to provide relief from rheumatism. Also, water obtained from boiling potatoes can relieve the pain and inflammation of rheumatism. However, due to high starch and carbohydrate content, it tends to increase body weight which may have adverse effects on rheumatic people. It is a fine balance, so you must apply it as a helpful approach without consuming the potato itself.

3. Weight Gain - Potatoes are primarily made of carbohydrates and contain very little protein. This makes it an ideal diet for those excessively lean or thin people who desperately want to put on weight. The vitamin content includes vitamin-C and B-complex, which also help in proper absorption of carbohydrates. That is one of the reasons that potatoes make up a large part of the diet of sumo wrestlers, as well as many other athletes who need large energy reserves to burn off in order to compete.

4. Scurvy - The vitamin-C present in potatoes can help prevent this disease, caused by a deficiency of vitamin-C. It is characterized by cracked lip corners, spongy and bleeding gums, and frequent viral infections. Although it has been eliminated from most first and second world countries with ready access to vitamin C, it still exists in certain nations of the world, so the prolific presence of potatoes in the world helps with this problem.

5. Help Digestion - Since potatoes predominantly contain carbohydrates, they are easy to digest and facilitate digestion. This property makes them a good diet for babies or for those who cannot digest hard food, but need energy. However, remember that eating too many potatoes on a regular basis may cause acidity over time.

Potatoes also contain a considerable amount of fiber or roughage, more in raw potatoes and cold ones than boiled or hot ones. This stimulates peristaltic motion and increased secretion of gastric juices, which eases digestion and prevents conditions like constipation and protects the body from more serious conditions like colorectal cancer. Fiber is also connected with scraping cholesterol out of the arteries and blood vessels, thereby increasing heart health.

6. Cancer Prevention - Certain types of potatoes, particularly red and russet potatoes, contain high levels of flavonoid antioxidants and vitamin A like zeaxanthin and carotenes, they can protect you against many types of cancer. Also, research at the Agricultural Research service has shown that potatoes contain a compound called quercetin, which has been proven to have anti-cancer and anti-tumor properties. Finally, the high levels of vitamin A and C both have antioxidant qualities that can protect your body from the devastating effects of cancer.

7. Heart Diseases - Minerals and roughage, potatoes also contain certain substances called Carotenoids. Carotenoids are beneficial for heart health and the functioning of other internal organs. Again, since potatoes raises the glucose level in the blood and over-consumption may cause obesity, which puts pressure on your heart, you must be careful about how often you use potatoes for this health benefit. This method of preventing heart disease is not recommended for obese or diabetic people.

8. Kidney Stones - Kidney Stones are caused mainly due to increased levels of uric acid in the blood. In such cases, foods high in protein should be avoided, particularly animal proteins such as meat, turkey, shrimp, fish, eggs, and milk, as well as spinach, raw plantain, black grams and certain beans, which drastically increase the level of uric acid in the blood.

Iron and calcium also contribute to forming the stones. Potatoes are rich in both of these so logically, they wouldn’t fit in as a preventative measure of kidney stones, but they also contain magnesium, which inhibits the accumulation or deposition of calcium calcification in the kidney and other tissues, thereby proving beneficial for treatment of renal calculi.

9. Overcoming Swelling Around the Eyes - Habit of sleeping too long sometimes make eye such as puffy, to cope sufficiently with the potatoes were washed and peeled and then grated. Compress the eyes with a cloth to the swelling around the eyes. Use a couple of times, so that the swelling deflated.

10. Brain Function - Proper functioning of the brain depends largely on the glucose level, oxygen supply, various components of the vitamin-B complex and certain hormones, amino acids and fatty acids like omega-3. Potatoes cater to almost all the needs mentioned above.

They are high in carbohydrates, and thereby maintain good levels of glucose in the blood. This prevents the brain from letting fatigue creep in and it keeps your cognitive activity and performance high. Next, the brain needs oxygen, which is carried to the brain by the hemoglobin in the blood; its main constituent is iron.

Potatoes contain iron as well. Therefore, potatoes help deliver oxygen to the brain as well. There are a wide variety of vitamins and minerals in potatoes that positively affect the function of the brain, including phosphorus, zinc, and the B complex vitamins. The vasodilating properties of potassium have also been connected to stimulation of brain function due to increased blood flow to that essential organ.