The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced final figures for the nutritional content of potatoes. America's favorite vegetable not only tastes great but is good for us too. The revised nutrition label now lists a medium potato as providing 100 calories instead of 120. In addition, the vitamin C content has increased from 40% to 45% of the Daily Value, potassium from 20% to 21% of the Daily Value, and the fiber content is now 3 grams, up from 2 grams.
Need another reason to increase your spud intake? According to a study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the potato is a very filling food, ranking highest in a satiety index (SI). Researchers at the University of Sydney developed the index, which was based on how full subjects were after eating 240 calories worth of various foods. The 38 different foods were broken down into six categories: fruits, bakery products, snack foods, protein-rich foods, carbohydrate-rich foods and breakfast cereals.
Interestingly, the researchers found that the SI scores varied greatly. Potatoes ranked the highest, seven times higher than croissants, the least-filling food. More important, the researchers found that satiety was a good predictor of how much food was eaten at the next meal. On average, foods containing more fat and sugar were less filling and resulted in greater food intake at a meal eaten two hours later. These foods also had smaller serving sizes since they're higher in calories. In contrast, simple "whole" foods such as fruits, potatoes, steak and fish were the most satiating foods.
What does this mean? For those of us who are dieting or trying to maintain our weight, we should be increasing our intake of "filling" foods -- or those that give you the most satisfaction for the least amount of calories. For example, the study showed that potatoes were the most filling of all the foods, including rice and bread; crackers seemed to be more filling than donuts or white bread; fish had a higher SI level than cheese or lentils; oatmeal beat out Cornflakes and All-Bran; oranges and apples had a higher SI level than bananas; and popcorn was more filling than ice-cream.
Further research is needed to confirm these findings and to look at the effects of other foods and food preparation techniques on satiety. "In the meantime, "suggests registered dietitian, Elizabeth Ward, "remember that potatoes are fat-free, sodium-free, high in vitamin C and potassium, and provide a good source of vitamin B6 and fiber." That is reason enough to keep eating America's favorite vegetable!
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