Why potatoes help weight loss?

Why potatoes help weight loss?

 

This is because potatoes contain mostly resistant starch.

 

What is resistant starch?

 

Resistant starch (RS) is a type of starch that is not digested in the stomach or small intestine and reaching the colon intact.  Thus, it “resists” digestion. Hence, we do not obtain significant calories from RS.  

RS selectively stimulates the good bacteria in our intestines, helping to maintain a healthy balance of bacteria. 

RS improves insulin sensitivity and decrease blood glucose levels in response to meals.  In one study, consumption of 15 and 30 grams per day of resistant starch showed improved insulin sensitivity in overweight and obese men, equivalent to the improvement that would be expected with weight loss equal to approximately 10% of body weight.

Not only does RS beneficially decrease the blood glucose response at the time it is consumed, but also blood glucose and insulin levels rise less than would otherwise be expected with the subsequent meal.

Besides not containing large amount of calories while improving insulin sensitivity, RS appears to have several beneficial effects that contributes to weight loss, including decreased blood insulin spikes after meals, decreased appetite, and decreased fat storage in fat cells. There may also be preservation of lean body mass.

RS is also associated with decreased risk of colorectal cancer, thought to occur through several different mechanisms including: protection from DNA damage, favorable changes in gene expression, and increased apoptosis (programmed cell death) of cancerous or pre-cancerous cells.

Some common food sources of RS include green (unripe) bananas, plantains, properly prepared cooked and cooled parboiled rice or legumes, as well as the cooked and cooled potatoes mentioned before.

More to say in regard to sweet potatoes, the purple colour sweet potatoes, contain, in addition, anthocyanins, which is an antioxidant found in all deep red, purple or blue fruits and vegetables. Anthocyanins can help our body cope with free radicals, prevent cancers and cardiovascular disease.

 

Oregano, its Cancer-Fighting Effects and other Health Benefits

Oregano is known botanically as Origanum vulgare. It contains numerous phytonutrients, including thymol and rosmarinic acid, which function as potent antioxidants that can prevent oxygen-based damage to cell structures throughout the body. Rosmarinic acid, in particular, is a strong antioxidant that supports immune system health.

On a per gram fresh weight basis, oregano has demonstrated 42 times more antioxidant activity than apples, 30 times more than potatoes, 12 times more than oranges and 4 times more than blueberries.

Oregano is a good source of fiber. Fiber works in the body to bind to bile salts and cancer-causing toxins in the colon and remove them from the body. This forces the body to break down cholesterol to make more bile salts.

Oregano is also an excellent source of vitamin K, B6, A, C, E and a very good source of manganese, iron, calcium and potassium.

Oregano has been used for the treatment of chronic candidiasis through its antifungal properties. Its supplements can also be used to treat indigestion, heartburn, and low stomach acidity. Oregano aids by reducing gas in the stomach as well as soothing a churning stomach.

Oregano contains beta-caryophyllin (E-BCP), a substance that inhibits inflammation and may also be beneficial for conditions including osteoporosis and arteriosclerosis, as well as metabolic syndrome.

Supplemental oregano has shown to be a beneficial treatment for infections, including yeast infections.

Carvacol and thymol, the two phytochemicals in oregano, are powerful antimicrobials, against a large array of bacteria including Escherichia coli.

Oregano extract has been shown to "lead to growth arrest and cell death in a dose- and time-dependent manner" in colon cancer cells. A phytochemical in oregano, carnosol, has been "evaluated for anti-cancer property in prostate, breast, skin and leukemia with promising results".

In addition, oregano encourages sweat production as a mode of detox, and ingesting it may help our body to get rid of unwanted phlegm in the lungs. 

Health Benefits of Eggplant

Eggplant, or aubergine as it is called in France, belongs to the plant family of Solanaceae, also commonly known as nightshades, which includes tomatoes, sweet peppers and potatoes.

In addition to featuring a host of vitamins and minerals, eggplant contains phytonutrients, which have antioxidant property.

Moreover, the anthocyanin phytonutrient found in eggplant skin which is called nasunin can protect cell membranes from damage.

Nasunin not only is a potent free-radical scavenger, but is also an iron chelator. Although iron is an essential nutrient and is necessary for oxygen transport, normal immune function and collagen synthesis, excess iron increases free radical production and is associated with an increased risk of heart disease and cancer.

By chelating iron, nasunin lessens free radical formation with numerous beneficial results, including protecting blood cholesterol from peroxidation; preventing cellular damage that can promote cancer; and lessening free radical damage in joints, which is a primary factor in rheumatoid arthritis.

Meanwhile, the phytonutrients contained in eggplant include phenolic compounds. The predominant phenolic compound found in eggplant is chlorogenic acid, which is one of the most potent free radical scavengers found in plant tissues. Benefits attributed to chlorogenic acid include antimutagenic (anti-cancer), antimicrobial, anti-LDL (bad cholesterol) and antiviral activities.

Benefits of consuming medium chain fatty acids

Studies showed that diets rich in medium chain fatty acids (MCTs), found for example in coconut oil, prompted a plethora of benefits including: 

- Increase in energy
- Reduced body weight and lower body fat mass
- Decrease in food consumption
- Preventing atherosclerosis
- Boost in metabolism

Dietary fats are molecules composed of individual carbon atoms linked into chains ranging from 2 to 22 carbon atoms in length. Long Chain Fatty acids (LCTs) ranging from 12 to 18 carbons long while MCTs, are composed of only 6 to 10 carbon links. Because of their shorter chain length, MCTs have a number of unique properties which give them advantages over the more common LCTs.

MCTs, Energy and Exercise 
MCTs are more rapidly absorbed by the body and more quickly metabolized. The result of this accelerated metabolic conversion is that instead of being stored as fat, the calories contained in MCTs are very efficiently converted into fuel for immediate use by organs and muscles. MCTs are thus a good choice for anyone who has increased energy needs, as following major surgery, during normal or stunted growth, to enhance athletic performance, and to counteract the decreased energy production that results from aging.

Weight Control 

In addition to their lower caloric content than LCTs, MCTs are not stored in fat deposits in the body as much as LCTs. Furthermore, MCTs have been shown to enhance thermogenesis (i.e., fat burning).

 

Moreover, calorie-restricted diets are often associated with marked declines in energy. A number of studies support the benefits of using MCTs in weight loss programs to boost energy levels and increase fatty acid metabolism to aid in reducing fat deposits.

 

Appetite control

Regarding the weight loss effect, MCTs have been shown to suppress appetite, an ability of obvious benefit for those attempting to lower their intake of total calories. 

 

Atherosclerosis

MCTs have a number of properties that may be beneficial in preventing atherosclerosis. Among these are that MCTs have anti-coagulation effects, and have been shown to lower serum cholesterol and reduce levels of cholesterol in the liver and other tissues. MCTs have also been reported to act as antioxidants and reduce tissue requirements for Vitamin E.

 

MCTs have a slight hypoglycemic (blood glucose-lowering) effect, and thus may be useful for diabetics, or anyone with a tendency for pre-diabetes (which includes just about everyone over 35).

 

Boost in metabolism and Immune Enhancement 

MCTs have proven useful in treating a number of medical disorders that involve impaired or damaged lipid (fat) metabolism. These include: obstructive jaundice, biliary cirrhosis, pancreatitis, cystic fibrosis, celiac disease, Whipple’s disease, Crohn’s disease, regional enteritis, and malabsorption in neonates.

 

MCTs are useful for feeding of newborn infants, to both assist their initial growth and to contribute to their physiological development. The absorption of calcium and magnesium appears to be enhanced when the diet contains MCTs, particularly in infants, and the absorption of amino acids also appears to be improved. Thus, MCTs can be a useful addition to the diet of those suffering from any form of malnutrition or tissue wasting. In this regard, MCTs are often added for intravenous feeding following surgery or during recovery from severe injuries, burns and infections.

Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are packed with vitamins and minerals. They are rich in vitamins A, C, B5, B6 and E, potassium and manganese. In several studies from Africa, sweet potatoes were found to contain between 100-1,600 micrograms (RAE) of vitamin A in every 3.5 ounces—enough, on average, to meet 35% of all vitamin A needs, and in many cases enough to meet over 90% of vitamin A needs.

Sweet potatoes come in a variety of colors ranging from the popular orange to purple, red and white. Different colored sweet potatoes have different flavors and textures. In addition, the antioxidant profile differs slightly based on the color with purple sweet potatoes containing the most antioxidants.

The purple-fleshed sweet potato anthocyanin pigments—primarily peonidins and cyanidins—have important antioxidant properties and anti-inflammatory properties. Particularly when passing through our digestive tract, they may be able to lower the potential health risk posed by heavy metals and oxygen radicals. 

It can be helpful to include some fat in the sweet potato-containing meals if we want to enjoy the full beta-carotene benefits of this root vegetable. Recent research has shown that a minimum of 3-5 grams of fat per meal significantly increases our uptake of beta-carotene from sweet potatoes. This minimal amount of fat can be very easy to include, for example, by adding 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in.

Some nutritional benefits from sweet potatoes are easy to achieve if using steaming or boiling as cooking method. Recent studies show excellent preservation of sweet potato anthocyanins with steaming, and several studies comparing boiling to roasting have shown better blood sugar effects (including the achievement of a lower glycemic index, or GI value) with boiling.

The impact of steaming is particularly interesting, since only two minutes of steaming have been show to deactivate peroxidase enzymes that might otherwise be able to break down anthocyanins found in the sweet potato. In fact, with these peroxidase enzymes deactivated, natural anthocyanin extracts from sweet potato used for food coloring may be even more stable than synthetic food colorings. And this benefit is not limited to the food's appearance since the anthocyanins have great health benefits as antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients.

While researchers have long been aware of sporamins (the storage proteins in sweet potato), only recently has research shown some of their unique antioxidant properties. The potential health benefits of the sweet potato sporamins in helping prevent oxidative damage to our cells should not be surprising since sweet potatoes produce sporamins whenever subjected to physical damage to help promote healing.