Study: Hearty Potato Makes You Fat

The hearty potato that gained so much credit for its nutritional value is now receiving huge slaps due to recent finds. Researchers from Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, in Boston, for instance, have recently found that potatoes cause more weight gain than any other foods known to spike fatty deposits around the waist.

Were the researchers referring to the fried potatoes, which you’ve always known to really get you into trouble? Hardly the case. According to the study, whether you fried your potato, mashed it with butter and garlic, or simply banged it in the oven or had it boiled, it still comes out far worse than what a sugary drink, double bacon cheeseburgers, or gulping on high caloric alcoholic drink.

The study found that a daily extra serving of potato chips adds up an average of 1.7 pounds in four years, and about 1.3 pounds throughout the same period for eating non-chip form of potatoes. Munching of French fries tops a 3.4 pounds added to total weight gain in four years. But the problem does not simply stop with the additional weight, but with the fact that the body easily transforms the starchy food into glucose. Hence, posing a much greater problem called increased blood sugar levels, commonly known as diabetes. The list of complications goes long.

Having the burden of keeping blood sugar levels to a normal level, the pancreas will be overworked. When the pancreas becomes successful with its burdensome job, the blood sugar levels will plummet, causing the individual to suddenly feel hungry and lead to another bingeing or simply snacking. As this condition continues over a long period, the result is drastic weight gain and overly fatigued pancreas, possibly contributing to type 2 diabetes.

And oh, wait, that’s not all. Potatoes are also packed with significantly high amount of calories in such a relatively small package. The baked potato, which is believed to be real healthy, contains 278 calories. Its unhealthy French fries cousin is packed with 500 to 600 calories per serving. When compared with the other so called unhealthy foods, such soda, the latter looks entirely shrunk. A 12 oz. Coca-Cola contains only 140 calories, while 150 calories in Pepsi. Imagine piling such a huge amount of calories into your system everyday; you’ll surely swell and end up being treated by those in medical uniforms while lying in a hospital bed.

That’s a real bad news for potato lovers like me. And I’m not buying it just yet. Potatoes are among the healthiest vegetables that I can’t undo from my table just like that. It’s got 48% of vitamin c, 47% potassium, 18% iron, 26% dietary fiber, and 4% calcium. If eaten without salt and fixings, you get to have the benefits from those nutrients. And if you eat potato raw, the amount of vitamin c spiked to 121% and the dietary fiber up at 32%! With better regimen of physical activities, more healthful diet, skipping the smoke, and regulated alcohol intake, weight gain is going to stay off the equation.