Red potato nutrition is something that we do not investigate at all.
As we all know, there are so many types of potatoes that we all seem to forget how good these are for our health.
In fact, red potatoes are often described as “white food”.
And I can tell you this is not a compliment.
In essence, “white food” is considered as a No-No food. In other words, this type of food is not considered healthy when you are trying to live a healthy lifestyle.
I can give you two examples of these No-No “white-food”.
The first one is white bread. And the second one is pasta in all of its form/shape/type.
Having said so, it is not right to avoid eating red potatoes.
At the end of the day, these contain only 110 calories.
They also contain 45% of your daily value of vitamin C (1). Did you know this?
If you did not know this, then read on as there is much more to red potato nutrition than what you have ever dreamed off.
Look, one red potato contains more potassium than a banana.
It has zero sodium, it is naturally fat-free and contains zero cholesterol. YES, I said zero cholesterol.
Scientifically, red potatoes are so good for you that they should be part of your healthy food plan.
There are dozens of reasons why we should all incorporate this vegetable into our diet.
Below I provide you with 10 red potato nutrition benefits you wished you knew before.
10 red potato nutrition benefits
I kindly invite you to read the below benefits, digest the information and go ahead and cook with this wonderful potato.
By the way, I have also provided you with a video that highlights how to make a nice roasted red potato dish. Enjoy it.
1- Enhance your immune system
As I said it, red potatoes contain 45% of our daily-recommended allowance of Vitamin C.
Many people advise eating potato’s red skin to optimise your intake of vitamins.
Well, in this instance, they are wrong.
Most of the Vitamin C is found in the inside of a red potato. The inside is simply full of Vitamin C.
This vitamin is critical to our health.
It enhances your immune system and has the particularity of helping to repair your body tissue. (2)
It is also full of antioxidants.
In fact, this particular type of potato has more vitamin C than a tomato.
Maybe you can make a nice combination of both vegetables.
Prepare a baked red potato and top it up with nice and fresh tomato. Do not forget to add some basil top too.
A Nice dish full of vitamin C, antioxidant and you can only agree with me that it does sound delicious.
2- Red potato nutrition – Increase your energy levels
Here is one thing you really need to know about. You are better off eating red potatoes than pasta. Why?
Because red potatoes contain more energy and complex type carbohydrate than pasta.
So, if take a cup of this potato rather than a cup of pasta.
Looking at the red potato nutrition factors, they are simply rich in complex carbohydrates.
They are also full of vitamins, which are essential for your body to function as it should.
They are considered by sportsmen and women as real fuel for their bodies. So, you should too.
What is also critically important is that you need eat only unadulterated and unprocessed potatoes.
We now live in a world of processed food.
Unfortunately, processed food is not good for us as the vast majority of nutrients is removed during the transformation process.
That is why I strongly advise you to eat unprocessed food.
Unprocessed red potatoes are without a doubt the best source of starchy energy possible in your diet.
At the end of the day, red potatoes have been used to develop batteries because of their high energy content. Is this not ringing the bell? (3)
3- Red potatoes consumption lower stress levels
We are very lucky to have this potato.
Eating them allows us to absorb about 10% of our recommended daily value of Vitamin B6.
And this vitamin a really important to us.
Research has shown that it helps in body cellular renewal. (4)
And that tends to help you develop a healthy nervous system.
This, in turn, supports a good and well-balanced mood.
So, by just eating red potatoes, you’ll reduce your stress level.
This will lead to the reduction of your cholesterol.
But best of all, it will reduce heart disease potentials.
My advice is to roast or bake your potatoes.
Like this, you’ll get the most B6 out of them.
4- Improve your body cell function
Remember this fact: eating one red potato will allow your body to get about 6% of your daily requirement of iron.
Why is this so important?
Iron simply assists your cells by optimising oxygen usage within your body.
So improving oxygenation of your body cells means that your body will be healthier and function better.
Iron also support your body enzymatic system where it positively affects your neural development.
Overal, eating a little bit carbohydrate red potatoes will help your body to function as it should. (5)
If you are anemic (or feeling so), you can turn to red potatoes. They will definitely help you out.
Maybe the best way to absorb most of the Iron in the potato is to do a soup.
The different vegetables in the soup will help your body absorb the iron found in the potato. This is for vegetarian.
Obviously, if you are not a vegetarian, then you may want a piece of meat with potatoes and vegetables.
The combination of the meat and the vegetables will help to absorb iron.
5- Lower blood pressure
Potatoes are naturally free of sodium (effectively, they are naturally free of salt).
At the same time, they contain a lot of potassium.
Being high in potassium and low in sodium means that this type of potatoes contributes to lowering your blood pressure. (6)
Both of these potato properties are critical to keeping your cells, body fluids and nerves healthy.
To give you a feel for this vegetable, let us compare it to bananas.
A red potato contains about 20% of your daily requirement of potassium.
A banana only contains 9%. Which one would you eat now?
Enjoy your next red potation meal.
6- Naturally Gluten Free
I want to say this in the clearest way possible.
There is no gluten in red potatoes.
As such, you should eat this nice vegetable and include it in your weekly diet.
I have added this section because some people around me have this misconception.
They think that potatoes contain gluten.
Well, rest assured that this is definitely wrong.
This potato may be white, but its color does not mean that it is used to make white flour (flour made out of cereals are gluten type food).
If you are on a gluten-free diet or are allergic to gluten, then I would advise using red potatoes instead.
For instance, you can slice a red potato. Then use it instead of bread croutons.
Top the slices with tomatoes or salmon and some olive oil and cook in the oven.
The slices will be crusty and the taste that will come out of that is fantastic. Enjoy it.
7- Red skin potatoes nutrition fact – They are fat-free
This is where I want to stress that red skin potatoes (and potatoes in general) are fat-free (7).
The fat comes from the ways we cook this poor potato.
That is why it has such a bad reputation.
Many prepare them as chips. And in chips, we have bad fat.
But red skin potatoes nutrition experts are adamant.
This vegetable is naturally buttery flavored.
It has a nice and well moist texture.
Instead of making the usual chips, just boil, roast or bake a potato.
Then add some nice herbs and fresh seasonings.
Finally, a bit of veggie like tomatoes, cooked aubergines, etc. and you’ll end up with a nice meal.
And the good news is that this simple red skin potato recipe is fat-free.
8- The Red Skin – Its real nutritional value to our health
What I will say will come as a shock to some of you.
To others, it will be business as usual.
Well, the part that contains most of the nutritional value of a red skin potato is the skin itself.
Researchers are clear about this.
If you want to get the maximum out of your red potatoes nutritional value, then you need to eat the skin.
The rationale behind this is that skin layer, though very thin, contains plenty of fiber, iron, B vitamins, and potassium.
Think of it this way.
Nearly half of a potato fiber is the skin.
The good news is that a red potato has a very thin skin.
So, an oven-baked potato with its skin is really good for you. Look at the picture below.
Does that not sound appetizing?
9- Feel stomach full much longer with red skin potatoes
If you decide to eat this potato, then make sure you eat both the white flesh and the red skin.
Both will help you feel full for longer period of time. This means you will not want to eat snacks.
As such, you will slowly start losing weight (if you need to).
Note that you need to eat the skin to absorb the 3 grams. Without it, you would gain only one-third of it.
The fibers are really good for your guts.
Because they stay for quite some time in your body before full digestion, you’ll feel full much longer.
10 – Eat red potatoes does increase your intake of vegetable
This is another misconception.
People think that potatoes are not veggies.
The reality is that potatoes are amongst vegetables.
As children love potatoes, why not try the red ones?
What researchers have found is that if you introduce potatoes in a meal, it encourages children to eat other types of veggies.
So all in all, everyone is a winner.
Your body will get red potatoes nutrients, your children will get these too and your body will thank you for that.
You can always sever red potatoes mashed with their skins.
Then just add as a side dish peas (children loves these), some carrots and maybe if you are lucky broccoli.
Red potato recipe video to prepare at home
Here is a very nice recipe for red potato. The video is very entertaining too.
Note that I would not use as much oil as it is shown in the video. Remember, reducing the oil content in potatoes will definitely reduce your fat intake.
Conclusion
It is clear that red skin potatoes must be part of your healthy diet.
That’s why I put together a list of red skinned mashed potatoes recipes that you can use to increase your intake of this vegetable.
I also advise you to read about do potatoes contains gluten?
What you need to take from the above is that it is the way you cook that makes the potato healthy or not.
If you cook chips, then you’ll end up with unhealthy potatoes.
However, if you cook this as baking, boiling, steaming etc. and you eat the red skin too, then you are on a winner.
This vegetable can reduce the risk for cholesterol, high blood pressure, improve your digesting system and reduce your weight
And do not forget, it also improves your immune system.
Enjoy this wonderful vegetable in your weekly diet.
Back to you
Now you know everything about the red potato nutrition characteristics.
You just need to eat it with its skin and you’ll maximise your healthy intake.
If you want to find more great articles in addition to this one, just click here for amazing Omigy post.
I hope you liked the article which summarises large, medium and small red potatoes nutrition properties.
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