If you're on a weight loss diet, one of the carbs that's usually excluded from your shopping list is plain potatoes.
Therefore, it is even more unusual that the potato diet is becoming more popular. This is because it is an extreme method of eating only boiled potatoes for a certain period of time in order to lose weight rapidly.
The duration of a potato diet can range from a painful three days to a harsh few months. Many claim that they have lost significant weight, but no scientific research has been done to support it. With the exception of french fries, this all-purpose root vegetable has many health benefits, but is the potato diet a safe and way to lose weight?
So, I checked the potato diet method and the nutritional value of potatoes, and asked Pixie Turner, a certified nutritionist of Discover Great Veg, about the points of concern.
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The potato diet is basically a method of eating only potatoes for days, weeks or months. There are many ways to do it, but the most popular is the crash diet promoted by Tom Steele, author of The Potato Hack: Weight Loss Simplified.
He claims in a book that eating only plain boiled potatoes for 3-5 days will result in a weight loss of about 1 pound (0.45 kg) per day. Seasonings and toppings are prohibited, and although salt is allowed, it is advised not to add it either.
In addition, long-term potato diets such as the Spud Fit Challenge have appeared in recent years. Invented by Australian Andrew Taylor, he said he lived on potatoes all year round and lost 117 pounds (53.07 kg).
His radical diet allows the use of fat-free seasonings such as sweet potatoes, herbs, spices, sweet chili and tomato sauces, and barbecue sauces.
In general, potato diets differ in three ways:
But you'll notice that it's not called the "French fries diet" here. High-fat, high-salt potato dishes such as potato chips and french fries are strictly prohibited no matter what.
Water, coffee or tea (without milk or sugar) is usually recommended for drinks with potatoes.
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A potato diet can help you lose weight at first. Because it's very low in calories. Medium-sized potatoes with skin have about 110 calories, so even if you eat 10 potatoes a day, it's 1100 calories, which is far less than the recommended daily calorie intake of 2000 calories for women and 2500 calories for men.
"When it comes to weight loss, there's nothing special about potatoes," Turner said.
"Any diet is just doing what it's aiming for. It's about limiting what you eat and limiting your total energy intake. It's easy to get tired of eating just potatoes. , Eat less than usual. "
Flavorful foods cause the brain's reward system, but of course, just potatoes don't have that effect, so it's almost impossible to overeat. In other words, only when you are hungry, you will eat enough to control your hunger.
Potatoes also contain a protease inhibitor 2, a compound that helps reduce appetite and food intake and stimulate satiety hormones, which needs further research.
Benefits of potato diet
While the potato diet has many downsides and health risks, it also has some potential benefits that deserve consideration.
🥔 High nutritional value
One potato (about 180g) contains 1/4 of the daily intake of potassium, vitamin C and vitamin B6, as well as sufficient amounts of folic acid, niacin, phosphorus and manganese. It is also a rich source of antioxidants, especially white potatoes containing zeaxanthin and purple and red potatoes containing anthocyanins.
🥔 Rich in fiber
One potato contains about 3.7g of fiber, which is about the same amount as one apple. Not only is fiber essential for a healthy digestive system, it also keeps you feeling full and stabilizes your blood sugar levels. In addition, it is rich in resistant starch (resistant starch) that feeds bacteria that are difficult to digest and are good for the gastrointestinal tract.
🥔 Affordable price
Potatoes are cheap, always available, and less damaging than other vegetables. There is a feeling of fullness that is worth the price, and it is the top food rank that satisfies hunger. To get the fullness you get from a potato, you have to eat as many as seven croissants.
🥔 Easy to practice
The potato diet is easy. Some argue that the simplicity of the rules changes the relationship with food. You will become more aware that you are eating as an outlet for boredom and fatigue, and will better understand when you feel hungry or full.
However, there are healthier ways to understand this. For example, you can adopt a mindful or intuitive way of eating.
Disadvantages of potato diet
Eating potatoes for dinner every day is fine, but dieting potatoes for any period of time can have extreme health consequences:
🚫 Very limited
A strict diet is a form of unusual eating that can cause an unhealthy relationship with food.
"Eating only potatoes ignores a healthy way of eating. It's restricted, very cramped, boring and anti-sociable, and it's not possible to get all the micronutrients your body needs from potatoes alone. It's impossible, "Turner said.
🚫 Lack of certain nutrients
Potatoes do not contain all the vitamins and minerals needed for optimal health, such as vitamin B 12, vitamin A, calcium and zinc. In addition, the protein content is 4.3g and the fat content is 0.2g, which are very small. Protein is needed to make muscles, bones, and hormones, and fat helps the body absorb certain vitamins.
🚫 Muscle loss
Losing weight does not mean losing fat. It's very common to lose muscle mass, especially on a low-calorie, low-protein diet. From a small study, 18% of the weight lost by people on a 500 calorie diet was lean muscle.
Guido Mieth🚫 Slow down metabolism
If you consume less calories than your body needs, you will interfere with your metabolism. One of them is the loss of muscle. This is because muscle tissue is more metabolically active than fat. Practicing a low-calorie diet reduces calorie burning per day by up to 23%, which lasts long after you stop the diet.
🚫 Difficult to maintain results
When metabolism slows down, the body burns very few calories in response to low calorie intake. Called the starvation response. This makes it difficult to maintain a new weight when returning to normal eating. Long-term studies have shown that 90% of people on a diet return to their original weight.
🚫 Exposed to toxic substances
When starchy foods such as potatoes are cooked at high temperatures, a harmful substance called acrylamide is produced. It is known that when taken in large amounts, it damages the human nervous system and causes cancer in animals.
If you plan to go on a potato diet for a long time, don't store the raw potatoes in the fridge and soak them in water before baking.
Is the potato diet safe?
Although it may help you lose weight, the safety of the potato diet has never been tested in a scientific setting. However, it is highly restricted, lacks important nutrients, and can interfere with metabolism.
"Anyway, don't force it. It's not worth it. It's boring and unnecessary to eat only potatoes, even though all the foods are great," Turner said.
"For healthy and sustainable weight loss, complex sugars, plenty of vegetables including fruits and green leaves such as kale, lacinato kale, and spinach, protein sources such as meat, fish, legumes, and tofu, oily. It's important to have a good balance of fat sources such as fresh fish, avocados, and cheese, and your favorite foods that you can enjoy, "she told me.
* This article is a translated version of what was posted on overseas sites.All data and research results are from original articles
Translation: Mitsuko Kanno From NetDoctor UK
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