Surprising Health Benefits of the Potato

Broccoli. Spinach. Carrots. Potatoes … wait, potatoes? When people think of healthy vegetable options, potatoes aren’t typically one that comes to mind, but new research from LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center has proved that perception should change.

In a study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food, Pennington Biomedical scientists found that potatoes do not increase the risk for type 2 diabetes, are filled with key nutrients and packed with health benefits.

“We demonstrated that contrary to common belief, potatoes do not negatively impact blood glucose levels. In fact, the individuals who participated in our study lost weight,” said Candida Rebello, an assistant professor at Pennington Biomedical.

She added, “People tend to eat the same weight of food regardless of calorie content in order to feel full. By eating foods with a heavier weight that are low in calories, you can easily reduce the number of calories you consume. The key aspect of our study is that we did not reduce the portion size of meals but lowered their caloric content by including potatoes.”

Participants in the study consumed meals tailored to their personalized caloric needs. By replacing some meat content with potato, participants found themselves getting fuller, more quickly, and often did not even finish their meal.

Participants were fed precisely controlled diets of widely available common foods including either beans, peas, and meat or fish, or white potatoes with meat or fish. Both diets were high in fruit and vegetable content and substituted an estimated 40 percent of typical meat portions with either beans and peas or potatoes.

Potatoes were incorporated into lunch and dinner entrées, such as shepherd’s pie and creamy shrimp and potatoes, and served together with sides such as mashed potatoes, oven-roasted potato wedges, potato salad or scalloped potatoes. The food was prepared at Pennington Biomedical’s Metabolic Kitchen. 

“We prepared the potatoes in a way that would maximize their fiber content. When we compared a diet with potatoes to a diet with beans and peas, we found them to be equal in terms of health benefits,” Rebello said. 

The meals provided a variety of dishes showing that an eating plan can have varied options for individuals striving to eat healthy. In addition, as concerns with food costs continues, potatoes are an inexpensive vegetable to incorporate into a diet.

Pennington Biomedical Research Center’s Executive Director John Kirwan said, “Obesity is an incredibly complex disease that Pennington Biomedical is tackling on three different fronts: research that looks at how and why our bodies react the way they do, research that looks at individual responses to diet and physical activity, and policy-level discussions and community programs that bring our research into strategies our local and global communities can use to live healthier lives. These new data on the impact of potatoes on our metabolism is an exciting addition to the arsenal of evidence we have to do just that.”