The potato debate
Whether you say potatoes, pattatas, or something completely different, chances are that you've enjoyed a humble spud a few times in your life.
But recent focus on the root vegetable - as well as low carbohydrate diets - is putting its nutritional relevance into question.
New guidelines published by the National Health and Medical Research
Council (NHMRC) has just given a recommendation that, in order to
achieve a healthy diet, Australian adults need to reduce their
consumption of potatoes by about 40 per cent.
But try telling that to AUSVEG - a body for the country's vegetable and potato growers - who vehemently dispute the NHMRC's recommendation.
“Potatoes are a natural wonder-food rich in potassium, vitamin C, folate and are completely fat and cholesterol free...with this in mind people should not avoid this healthy vegetable as suggested in new dietary guidelines," says Courtney Burger, senior communications officer for AUSVEG.
“We should not cast eating a fresh potato into the same category as
snacking on a packet of chips which are high in saturated fat, because
eating any vegetable in its natural and fresh form is going to be far
better off for your health as opposed to those which are highly
processed."
A recent survey by the body into Aussie consumers' favourite vegetables placed the potato at number 2 in preference.
Potatoes have had a culinary resurgence in Australia of late with the rebranding of Melbourne chain, Spudbar, that aims to promote spuds as healthy and not a carbohydrate to be avoided.
Research has also recently found they can actually help lower blood pressure and don't lead to weight gain - rather, it's the potatoes tendency to often be fried or baked which give it a bad reputation.
Just this month a new variety of potato branded "guilt-free" hit supermarket shelves in an attempt to appeal to low-carb conscious shoppers. The Bellitá potato has about 50 per cent less carbs when compared with other commonly available potato varieties, with just 9.5 grams of carbs per 100 gram serving.
“In a day and age where getting people to eat fresh vegetables is a
mammoth task, the last thing we should be doing is sending mixed
messages about the health benefits of consuming vegetables," says
Courtney.
“Consuming a fresh potato either steamed or boiled is a huge benefit to your health as they are a great source of vitamins and minerals, as well as containing no saturated fat."
The new NHMRC guidelines are a review of the previous
recommendations published in 2003 which allowed for a small amount of
junk food to be included within a healthy diet.
They also suggest that Australians need to increase their overall intake of vegetables, fruit and whole grain cereal, while men should reduce their consumption of red meat and young girls boost their servings of red meat. |