Find out why potatoes are not considered the most ideal food for every day and why potatoes should be eliminated from the diet. Recently, fans of a healthy lifestyle are increasingly refusing to eat potatoes. Quite often you can find articles that describe in detail why you cannot eat potatoes during the diet. In our country, this is a fairly popular food product and this issue is extremely relevant. Let's figure it out together.
Energy value of potatoes and their glycemic index
In its raw form, the energy value of potatoes is 80 calories. 100 grams of a vegetable contains 18 grams of carbohydrates. In addition, a similar amount of potatoes contains about two grams of protein compounds and 0.4 grams of fat. But the glycemic index of the vegetable is quite high.
The highest indicator has a baked vegetable (95), boiled a little lower (70), and the lowest glycemic index in jacket potatoes (65). At the same time, you should understand that this parameter is not the only one in determining the body's response to carbohydrates. Food combinations and total glycemic load are equally important in this regard.
If you consume a product with a high glycemic index in combination with food rich in protein compounds, healthy fats and plant fibers, then the body's glycemic response will be low. If you search for information on this topic on the net, you can find quite interesting results of one experiment.
The study participants ate several potatoes daily and lost weight in the process. At the same time, it is worth remembering that sweet potatoes are used in the United States, which differs from our potatoes by a lower glycemic index of 50 and containing a large amount of coarse fiber. It is quite obvious that from a couple of such root crops for a long time, the appetite will not appear. However, sweet potatoes are not common in our country, and there is no point in talking a lot about it.
Are potatoes good for the body?
Although many are interested in why potatoes should not be eaten, it should be noted that this is a very healthy product. Suffice it to say that potatoes contain more trace elements than honey. In addition, root crops contain plant fibers, amines, organic acids, saccharides, etc.
Since the potassium content in potatoes is high and according to this indicator this product is one of the leaders, it is extremely useful for the work of the heart muscle. Another mineral, magnesium, is important for bones as it increases bone density. We also note that thanks to 200 grams of boiled root vegetable, the daily requirement for vitamin C can be satisfied.
You must remember that the most useful is potatoes in their skins, steamed or baked. We recommend that young potatoes are eaten only with the skin to preserve all the nutrients. Also remember that French fries are no longer useful and, on the contrary, are dangerous to the body. This is due to the fact that under the influence of hot oil, potato starch is converted into carcinogenic substances - acrylamides.
Thus, we can safely say that the question of why it is impossible to eat potatoes is not correctly posed. If you consume this vegetable within reasonable limits and cook it correctly, then even while losing weight it will benefit. The main thing is not to eat the root vegetable fried, and also not to cook mashed potatoes in milk if you are losing weight.
How to combine potatoes and diet food?
We have already found out that with the right approach to solving the issue, potatoes cannot harm your figure in any way. We also noted the importance of the correct combination of products during weight loss, and now this issue needs to be paid more attention.
If you love this vegetable, then it makes no sense to give up on it while losing weight. You just have to follow a few simple rules that relate to the combination of potatoes with various products. You can not use the root vegetable in combination with various sauces, sausages, mayonnaise and meat.
Also, do not combine this vegetable with bread. But with lean fish or vegetables, potatoes will be very beneficial for the body. In addition, we recall that vegetable oil should be used for dressing potato dishes. By following these simple rules, you can continue to lose weight, and in addition provide the body with more nutrients.
Potato diet options
Probably, after everything you've read, you are no longer tormented by the question, why can't you eat potatoes? There are several options for the potato diet, and now we will talk about them.
Diet option number 1
This is the most popular type of potato diet food program, which lasts from 5 to 7 days. You only need to drink one glass of milk for breakfast. For lunch, use mashed potatoes with milk, but without adding oil, but greens are welcome. For dinner, potatoes, cucumber and eggs are again in your diet.
By sticking to this diet, you can lose about four pounds. It should also be said that the duration of this nutrition program can be increased to 15 days and in this situation you need to make changes to the menu every fourth day. During the first 3 days, you can consume up to 1.5 kilos of root crops throughout the day.
Bake the product in the oven until golden brown. This amount of potatoes must be divided into equal portions and consumed at equidistant intervals. It is very important to do without oil, spices, and salt. Do not forget about water, which must be drunk in an amount of at least 2 liters per day. Other products are prohibited at this time.
Cook the jacket potatoes for the next three days. The number of root vegetables allowed for consumption remains the same (1.5 kilos). You should consume two servings of the product without adding oil and salt, and one can be seasoned with vegetable oil. For the next three days, the potatoes should be baked or steamed.
Your daily energy intake is 1200 calories. This nutrition program will cleanse the intestinal tract and will not lead to depletion of the body. It is also well tolerated, because the feeling of hunger will not visit you.
Diet option number 2
Probably the question why potatoes should not be eaten is mainly related to the widespread opinion about the need for a significant restriction in food. Many girls try to eat porridge cooked in water, and this only leads to depletion of the body. After completing such nutrition programs, the lost pounds almost always come back.
If you want not to feel discomfort while losing weight, then the cabbage and potato diet can be an excellent choice. The duration of this nutrition program is one week. During the day, you need to eat no more than four root vegetables, as well as 0.5 kilos of cabbage. Divide this amount of food into five servings to be consumed at equidistant intervals.
Every 3rd day, you can afford about 200 grams of lean fish. Salt and spices should be excluded from the diet, but no more than one pinch of pepper can be consumed throughout the day. If you strictly adhere to these recommendations, then in a week you can get rid of seven kilos.
There are many variations of this technique, and you can easily find the balance you need. You can alternate between potato and cabbage days, and there are many healthy potato dishes that can be prepared. The main rule of this diet is a complete rejection of salt.
It should also be noted that snacks during the diet are prohibited and if you feel hungry, then you can drink coffee in the morning and a couple of cups of green tea in the afternoon. The amount of water is not limited, it is only important that it is without gas.
Diet option number 3
This meal plan is also for one week. The rules here are quite simple and in the morning you can eat potatoes, and in the evening you should limit yourself to a glass of low-fat kefir. In a week, you can get rid of five pounds of excess weight. In addition, you will cleanse the intestinal tract and improve the performance of the digestive system.
In conclusion, it is necessary to summarize the results of today's conversation, although you probably already understood what the answer to the question is, why you can't eat potatoes? Understand that dietary restriction is not the primary concern for weight loss. To lose weight, you only have to expend more energy than consumed.
Of course, there are some differences in calories derived from essential nutrients, but this does not change the essence of the matter. By and large, you can eat potatoes in any form, but at the same time remain within the required daily caloric intake. For example, the calorie content of fried potatoes is almost three times higher than that of boiled root vegetables.
In addition, as we said above, carcinogenic substances are formed in fried potatoes and therefore it is not recommended to use them. It is important not only to lose weight, but to do it right. First of all, this statement concerns the possible depletion of the body due to strong restrictions in products.
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