As of: March 5, 2024, 9:20 a.m
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Losing weight with potatoes – is it really possible?
If you want to make the popular tuber a lower-calorie treat, you can keep one simple thing in mind.
Too high in carbohydrates, too fatty: potatoes have a reputation for being fattening.
However, this myth is not necessarily true.
In fact, it all depends on how the tubers are prepared: Fries fried in oil are of course higher in calories than cooked jacket potatoes.
There is a useful trick to make potatoes healthier: eat potatoes that have been warmed up the day before.
Potatoes are much healthier than you think
There is also room for potatoes in a healthy and balanced diet.
There are only 70 calories and just 0.01 grams of fat in 100 grams of potatoes.
The tuber only becomes a calorie bomb when it is prepared with a lot of oil or fat.
Fries, chips, croquettes and the like are also heavily processed and contain unfavorable saturated fatty acids.
There are many good reasons to eat potatoes regularly.
© Michael Pole/IMAGO
Potatoes consist of 80 percent water.
They also contain lots of fiber.
According to the
Federal Center for Nutrition,
the tuber also scores with high-quality protein, B vitamins, vitamin C and potassium.
In addition, potatoes provide valuable phytochemicals that may protect against cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
They also have a positive effect on cholesterol and blood sugar levels and fight inflammation.
Potato: With one tip, the tuber becomes a low-calorie treat
Compared to other vegetables, potatoes have more carbohydrates: 100 grams contain 15 grams of carbohydrates.
This is not a bad thing in itself, as macronutrients are important sources of energy for the muscles and brain.
The
German Society for Nutrition
advises that at least half of your daily energy intake comes from carbohydrates.
During digestion, carbohydrates are metabolized into sugar.
So excessive consumption can lead to weight gain.
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But there is a clever trick to make the tubers lower in calories: let the potatoes cool after cooking and only eat them the next day.
“If heated starchy foods such as potatoes, pasta or rice cool down, some of the starch becomes indigestible.
As a result, it is no longer available to the body,” says Sabine Hülsmann, nutrition expert at the
Bavarian Consumer Center
.
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Resistant starch acts like fiber
Why is that?
When it cools, the structure of the starch changes: molecules shift and what is known as resistant starch is created.
This cannot be digested by the small intestine and ends up unhindered in the large intestine, where it is processed by the bacteria there.
This produces the fatty acid butyrate.
This serves as an energy supplier for the cells in the colon mucosa and ensures healthy intestinal flora.
Butyrate also helps against inflammation, regulates blood sugar levels and has a positive effect on blood lipid levels.
The resistant starch acts like fiber.
Overall, ten to 30 percent less energy is absorbed when the potatoes have cooled down.
The effect is retained if the tubers are then warmed up again.
According to the
Techniker Krankenkasse
, it can take up to twelve hours for the starch to convert into resistant starch.
Let the potatoes cool briefly and then put them in the fridge.
Otherwise bacteria can settle.
Resistant starch: Not just in potatoes
Resistant starch is also found in other foods.
A top source is legumes: 100 grams of cooked legumes (e.g. beans, lentils or chickpeas) contain 10 grams of resistant starch.
An unripe banana, on the other hand, provides 4.7 grams. That's exactly how much there is in half a cup of whole grain oat flakes.
Pasta and rice from the day before are also rich in resistant starch.
The
DAK
writes on its website: “After a dish like this from the 'leftover kitchen', the blood sugar level can rise less, the insulin secretion is lower, and we can feel full for longer.” Just like potatoes, pasta and rice are healthier when warmed up.
Because we feel full more quickly, we eat less and can therefore lose weight in the long term.
But: Because resistant starch is difficult to digest, some people can get flatulence from it.
In this case, potatoes, rice, etc. should be consumed fresh.