Who knew that by simply changing up the color of what you eat can change your body for the better? As it turns out, a daily dose of purple potatoes can help your body in so many ways.
A new study shows that people who ate plain purple potatoes cooked plain twice a day for a month lowered their blood pressure by 3%-4% without gaining weight.
Researchers say the blood pressure-lowering effects are likely due to the high concentration of antioxidants found naturally in potatoes. Antioxidants protect your body from molecules called “free radicals” that can damage healthy cells.
Purple potatoes are also loaded with antioxidants.
Like other colorful fruits and vegetables, purple potatoes’ bright color is a telltale sign that they’re high in antioxidants. In fact, they have two to three times more antioxidant activity than white or yellow potatoes.
Antioxidants are plant compounds that can protect your cells from the damaging effects of oxidative stress.
Purple potatoes are especially rich in polyphenol antioxidants called anthocyanins. They’re the same type of antioxidant found in blueberries and blackberries.
A higher anthocyanin intake is linked to several benefits, including healthier cholesterol levels, improved vision and eye health, and a reduced risk of heart disease, certain cancers, and diabetes. Those are the health conditions many African Americans suffer from most so its good to see purple potatoes can help with this.
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In addition to their high anthocyanin content, purple potatoes pack other antioxidants common to all types of potatoes, including:
- vitamin C
- carotenoid compounds
- selenium
- tyrosine
- polyphenolic compounds like caffeic acid, scopolin, chlorogenic acid, and ferulic acid
Researchers say potatoes contain a variety of potentially beneficial phytochemicals at similar levels as broccoli, spinach, and Brussels sprouts.
Potatoes’ Surprising Effect
In the study, 18 overweight and obese people with high blood pressure either ate six to eight small purple potatoes (about the size of a golf ball) with the skins twice daily or no potatoes, as a part of their normal diet for four weeks.
The results showed that people who ate purple potatoes lowered their diastolic (the bottom number in a blood pressure reading) blood pressure by an average of 4.3% and systolic (the top number) by 3.5%.
Researchers say that... blood pressure-lowering effect is nearly the same as with oatmeal.
They say the results are especially noteworthy because 14 of the 18 people in the study were already taking drugs to control their high blood pressure, yet still experienced a further lowering of their blood pressure. No other changes in body weight or cholesterol were found as a result of adding potatoes to the peoples’ diet.
Researchers say the potato is the most eaten vegetable in the U.S., but it’s gotten a bad rap.
"The potato, more than perhaps any other vegetable, has an undeserved bad reputation that has led many health-conscious people to ban them from their diet," Vinson says.
The results of the study were presented this week at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Denver.
