Custom Search
|
|
Potatoes Are Good For Your Heart
Irish men and women of London, delight and refuel your sense of loyalty to the (unofficial) symbol of Ireland as you stumble across this food revolution. A monumental step forward in nutritional thinking that throws good potato growing soil in the face of a carb frightened modern society. No longer shall good healthy and nutritious potatoes be shoved the back of the vegetable pecking order or destined for the alarmingly accurate and painfully received 'spud gun' (although that would be a shame. Let's keep a few aside for the spud gun). Let's embrace a potato-fuelled, carbtastic 2012. Just in time to reduce our stress levels before the onslaught of the athletically-charged tourist frenzy of the Olympics. Been spending your time desperately avoiding carbohydrates? For a long time now, London has embraced the low carb diet revolution which has been led by the US. In the never ending pursuit of finding the easiest way to lose weight without actually bothering to burn calories with good, old fashioned exercise, cutting out carbs was supposed to make your body burn off any excess fat. Technically speaking, cutting out carbs causes the body to go into a state of ketosis, meaning it converts fat into ketone bodies and uses these ketones as fuel. Sounds good, using your excess fat stores for energy, but the low-carb, high fat diet has its fair share of critics. They argue that it contributes to coronary heart disease and causes fat to build up in the arteries. So while you might be losing fat where you can see it, you're gaining it where you can't. In a place where you really, really don't want it. In short, if you want to take care of your heart, an Atkins-style diet is not recommended. So, all hail the high carbohydrate diet of potatoes, which reduces blood pressure and is good for your heart. Potato facts you may not know Potatoes have a lot of nutrients packed into them, which means that each calorie consumed is a calorie well spent. Potatoes are actually fairly low in calories too, depending on how you cook them, but have the added benefit of being very filling. Full of fibre, they help to keep you...erm... regular and keep your cholesterol levels in check. One baked potato provides about 20% of your recommended daily amount of vitamin B6. Vitamin B6 is important for your heart as it cuts homocysteine levels, a high level of which raises the risk of heart disease. As an added bonus, reducing homocysteine levels also helps your brain produce happy hormones known as SAM-e, which lift your mood. Potatoes are also one of the best sources of potassium, iron and copper. Lastly, potatoes help to lower your blood pressure due to the presence of helpful things called flavonoids and kukoamine. Eat those skins but wave goodbye to chips Before you gleefully find some scissors and cut up your membership cards for those gyms in London, maybe we should fully digest the extent of the research. To get the maximum benefits from potatoes we should: · Avoid frying them (alas chips are out of the question...come on, what did you expect?) · Avoid adding oil or fat (bye bye creamy mash and - with a heavy heart - roasties) · Eat the skins (Yes! Potato wedges are in...dammit no they're not, they're fried) Essentially the potato is your friend as long as you boil or microwave it. Yes, sadly the vast majority of the favourite potato dishes are a no-no. To get the full benefits of potatoes and reduce your blood pressure, it's all about the preparation. But let's face it; it's not that much of a shock. Deep fat frying could make a carrot unhealthy. Combine with an active lifestyle Before setting our stomachs to work and ditching the gyms in London, it's worth remembering that sitting around all day munching jacket potatoes and beans is not going to help you lose weight. Well, clearly. The potato is an amazing vegetable but it can't perform miracles. Nor will it help you get fit. Unfortunately it does take more effort on your part than that. So keep your gym membership. Or at least visit those gyms in London on a pay as you go basis, if you don't want to be too keen. If the gyms in London aren't your thing, go cycling, running, walking, whatever it is you feel you want to do to keep active. Only then will you see any weight loss or improvement in your fitness level. That is not to say that, as part of a calorie controlled diet, the potato wouldn't make a fantastic addition to your eating plan. As we said before, it is packed with nutrients and relatively low in calories. It also fills you up, something all dieters hope for. In fact a baked potato should be a dieter's dream. As with all things in life, you need to find a balance. Eat the right foods and take some exercise, then you can justify the odd indulgence. It's not often though that a food we thought of as an indulgence turns out to be excellent for us. Everyone loves carbs. Don't trust anyone that tells you otherwise. Despite this, lots of people avoid carbs. Well, those days are over. Carbohydrates are a very important part of our diets and now we can chomp down on one particular type of carbohydrate safe in the knowledge that it is providing us with multiple benefits. So fear not, food lovers who also love their health. The good news is that you don't have to kiss goodbye to one of nature's great pleasures: the humble potato. In fact, a potato a day, just like another of nature's delights, keeps the doctor away. Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com To visit gyms in London on a pay as you go basis, go to payasUgym. |
|