Excluding French fries and potato chips, some health experts consider potatoes superfoods. Unfortunately, the stigma of spuds remains; their health promoting and nutritional aspects are mostly unknown, buried in misinformation and partial facts that scare most consumers away.
There are rising concerns about potential food shortages in this free fall economy. The fact that nutritionally dense potatoes store well and are easy to grow year around in small lots, even flower boxes, puts potatoes high on the survivalist list.
Potatoes are a high source of potassium, even more than bananas, and are rich in other minerals too. They are also rich in Vitamin C and B6. Agricultural Research Service plant geneticist Roy Navarre has identified 60 different kinds of phytochemicals in the skins and flesh of a wide variety of potatoes. Some potato phenolic levels rival those of broccoli and spinach. Others contain high amounts of folic acid, quercetin, and kukoamines. Only one other food contains all three of those compounds – gogi berries. Potatoes are antioxidant dense as well.
