Ahh... the poor potato.
In addition to being kind of ugly, the dirt-dwelling tuber found itself on many a "forbidden foods" list since the 1990s when low-carb diets became all the rage.
Atkins, The Zone, and the South Beach Diet all tout that cutting carbs completely will help aid weight loss. That all you need to do to get skinny (and stay skinny) is eat protein and fats.
And despite the dwindling popularity of low-carb diets today, some high-carb foods can't shake their bad reputations. Many people still believe that eating foods high in carbohydrates, like potatoes, will make them gain weight.
Not so, claims research just released by the University of California, Davis and the National Center for Food Safety and Technology, Illinois Institute of Technology.
The findings of this study, which demonstrates that dieters can include potatoes in their eating plan and still shed unwanted pounds, were presented at the Obesity Society's 28th Annual Scientific Meeting held on October 8, 2010.
The study sought to gain a better understanding of the role of potatoes and the glycemic index in weight loss, largely because some have questioned the inclusion of potatoes in a weight loss regimen due to the vegetable's designation as a high glycemic index (HGI) food.
Potatoes, like many other HGI foods, can cause blood sugar
to spike after being consumed. This can make you feel hungry quickly after
you've eaten. Which, obviously, is a dieting disaster.
But the results of this study can give any weight-conscious potato lover a reason to celebrate.
Researchers studied 86 overweight men and women over the course of 12 weeks to measure the effects of a reduced-calorie, modified glycemic index diet with the addition of potatoes.
The subjects were randomly assigned to three groups and each
had a diet that included five to seven servings of potatoes per week. The
results indicated that all three groups lost weight.
One group was given a list of foods with a low glycemic index (LGI) to include
in their daily diet. The second group was given a list of foods with a
HGI to include in their daily diet.
Both groups were to reduce their daily caloric intake by 500 calories while also consuming five to seven servings of potatoes each week.
All participants were guided and monitored for compliance by
a dietitian to only eat foods on their lists or like foods along with the
provided potatoes.
Participants in the third group - called the "control group" - were allowed to
choose their daily meals and caloric intake on their own, but were encouraged
to adhere to the U.S. dietary guidelines and the food guide pyramid. The only
requirement of the third group was - like the other two groups - they had to
include five to seven servings of potatoes each week.
All subjects were provided recipes and counseled accordingly for successful
dietary adherence.
The results indicated that all three groups lost weight and there was no significant difference in weight lost between the low and high glycemic index groups.
If this is surprising news to you, consider this: when you strip a potato down to its natural state, it's quite healthy. One medium-size (5.3 ounce) skin-on potato contains just 110 calories per serving, boasts more potassium than a banana (620g), provides almost half the daily value of vitamin C (45 percent), and contains no fat, sodium or cholesterol.
But before you get too excited, read that sentence again. Medium sized. Skin-on. Per serving.
A medium (or perhaps "small" judging by the boulder-sized potatoes seen in today's grocery stores), naked potato is downright good for us. The heaping spoonfuls of butter, sour cream, and bacon bits we cram inside of it? Not so much.
"The results of this study confirm what health professionals and nutrition experts have said for years; when it comes to weight loss, it is not about eliminating a certain food or food groups, rather, it is reducing calories that count," said lead researcher Dr. Britt Burton-Freeman, PhD, MS. "There is no evidence that potatoes, when prepared in a healthful manner, contribute to weight gain. In fact, we are seeing that they can be part of a weight loss program."
So, really, this is just more evidence proving it's not what we eat, but how much of it that effects our weight. That there's no "magic food" we can add or subtract from our meal plans to help us slim down.
Hmm... maybe this isn't such great news after all.
