Fast Facts On Potatoes - Natural Health Food

Throughout America, potatoes are the most popular vegetable, even being ahead of other well known vegetables such as lettuce, tomatoes, and onions. You can cook potatoes in a variety of ways, and they are included in one out of three meals eaten by Americans. When they are prepared in a healthy way, a potato can be an excellent source of energy and also pack a nutritional punch. Image via Wikipedia

Like oranges, potatoes are very high in vitamin C. The fact is, one medium potato contains 45% of the vitamin C that's recommended for good health. Potatoes are also high in fiber and carbohydrates and contain more potassium than a banana.

Despite the common misnomer, potatoes themselves actually aren't fattening -- the potato is naturally low in calories and contains no fat, sodium, or cholesterol. The skins of potatoes provide a helpful dose of fiber, iron, potassium, calcium, zinc, phosphorus, and several B vitamins.

You can prepare potatoes by boiling them, steaming them, or even roasting them. If at all possible, you should avoid putting potatoes in the refrigerator or freezing them, as cold will turn the potato starch to sugar and cause them to turn dark when they are cooked.

Image via WikipediaWhen you store potatoes, keep them in a cool, dark place. Exposure to light will cause them to turn green and bitter. You can store them in the basement or root cellar if you have one. Potatoes should be stored in a paper bag, as plastic will trap moisture and lead to rot. (Paper will also help keep out light.)

From mashed potatoes to baked potatoes, a potato is something we all know and love. They serve well as part of many different tasty foods, and they provide our bodies with plenty of healthful benefits. We all eat potatoes, and some of us even grow our own (they are pretty easy to grow). Whether you grow your on or buy them, the potato is the one vegetable that makes everything just a little bit better.

Related articles on Potatoes:

• Rethinking Potatoes (eatdrinkbetter.com)
• Lose the weight, not the potatoes (eurekalert.org)
• Tony's Table: Yukon Gold Potato Salad (newyork.cbslocal.com)