The benefits and harms of potatoes, its juice, starch, broth, sprouts
Not a single cultivated plant in the world has caused as many controversies and disagreements as potatoes, because the benefits and harms of its use have been discussed literally from the first days of the appearance of tubers in Europe.
Potatoes were planted and, conversely, prohibited. Because of the poisonous fruits that peasants and noble nobles were poisoned with unknowingly, the culture was called "the devil's apple". The famous "potato riots" are associated with the spread of the vegetable, but a little later the failure of the harvest of cheap and nutritious tubers in Ireland gave rise to the greatest exodus of the population from the inhabited places and the death of hundreds of thousands of people.
When the passions around gardening have subsided, and tubers have become indispensable on almost all continents and continents, it is time to pay attention to the medicinal properties of potatoes, plant flowers and even its sprouts.
Useful properties and composition of potatoes
In potato tubers, considered by most of the population of the Old World and America as the "second bread", there are proteins necessary for building cells of the human body, unsaturated fatty acids and dietary fiber, mono- and disaccharides, organic acids, moisture and other components.
About 40% of the polysaccharides in potatoes are starch that is widely used for culinary and medicinal purposes.
Potatoes also contain fructose and glucose, pectins, minerals and many vitamins. The main value of the mineral composition of potatoes is a high concentration of potassium, in addition to which calcium and magnesium, phosphorus, chlorine, sodium and iron are found in tubers and other parts of the plant. Potatoes are also rich in vitamins, including vitamins A and B1, B2, B3, B6 and B9, C, E, H and PP.
What are the benefits and harms of potatoes after heat treatment?
Traditionally, potatoes are placed on the table in the form of heat-treated dishes. Tubers are fried, boiled and baked, served separately from other products and as part of soups and complex side dishes. At the same time, almost all vitamins present in potatoes dissolve in water, and some do not tolerate heating well. Therefore, when cooking potatoes, you should not refuse to use the potato broth that has taken over the benefits.
The best from a dietary point of view is potatoes baked in skins.
It is such a dish that can be beneficial in the presence of various diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Dietary fiber, abundant in boiled and baked tubers, will help normalize intestinal motility, actively cleanse the stomach and intestines. Fiber adsorbs and promotes the elimination of accumulated toxins and cholesterol from the body, neutralizes excess acid, which is extremely important for gastritis with high acidity and peptic ulcer disease.
Due to the presence of potassium in tubers, potatoes are often introduced into the diet of patients with hypertension, heart failure and other diseases of the heart and blood vessels.
Potassium is a heart support and an element that can normalize water balance in the body.Therefore, as a preventive measure, baked potatoes are recommended to everyone who is engaged in physical labor, is actively involved in sports or regularly undergoes serious stress. However, it is worth remembering that excess potatoes are not healthy, but harmful and can contribute to weight gain.
To meet the daily requirement for potassium, a person needs to eat 0.5 kg of potatoes, the highest concentration of this element determines the mild diuretic properties of the product.
Crushed boiled potatoes in folk medicine are used to treat:
- skin diseases, burns and long non-healing, purulent wounds;
- inflammatory processes in the upper respiratory tract;
- sharp debilitating cough.
The benefits of potato broth
Growing in your area potatoes without the use of chemicals, you have an excellent opportunity to use all parts of the potato for your health. The potato broth obtained after boiling the tubers contains a lot of mineral salts and vitamins that have passed from vegetables to water. The benefits of potato broth in folk medicine are used:
- with arthrosis and polyarthritis;
- with diseases of the intestines and other organs involved in the digestion process;
- with cardiovascular diseases;
- if necessary, cleansing the body of toxins and toxins;
- during rehabilitation after severe illness and exhaustion.
Fresh potato tea is beneficial for gallstones and obesity, difficulty with bowel movements, and Graves' disease. Thanks to the abundance of potassium, the liquid can help to activate urination, reduce pressure, normalize sleep and calm.
Potato starch: benefits and harms
The most valuable product obtained from potato tubers is starch, which is used both in the food field and in medicine.
In the absence of harm, potato starch is beneficial for its pronounced enveloping and anti-inflammatory effect. This product is indispensable for inflammatory processes and excess acidity in the gastrointestinal tract.
It is on the drying effect of starch that its use in the composition of powders and lotions on damaged skin is based.
The benefits and harms of potato juice and raw potatoes
Raw tubers and the juice obtained from them have medicinal properties no less, but perhaps more pronounced, in comparison with boiled and baked potatoes.
All the nutrients inherent in the culture are intact in these products, so you can expect from competent use:
- powerful anti-inflammatory effect;
- antimicrobial action, accompanied by active regeneration of damaged organs and tissues;
- antispasmodic action;
- stimulation of the gastrointestinal system and a laxative effect;
- manifestations of diuretic properties;
- restorative tonic action.
Thanks to the presence of vitamin C, which is practically absent in boiled potatoes, raw tubers and healthy potato juice without harm to the body increases natural defenses, supplies energy, reduces the risk of developing colds and infectious diseases, and improves vascular elasticity.
The beneficial effect of potato juice and non-thermally treated tubers was noted on the central nervous system. Substances in potatoes:
- stimulate the activity of the endocrine glands;
- help to cope with the manifestations of anemia;
- have anesthetic and sedative effect;
- prevent the formation of cancer cells and the development of neoplasms.
Gruel from chopped raw potatoes in the form of compresses and lotions is used in dermatology in the treatment of abscesses and eczema, dermatitis, fungal infections and difficult healing skin lesions.
For joint inflammation and pain in them, potato pulp mixed with olive oil will help.
But to restore the natural pigmentation of the skin will help the gruel from grated raw potatoes or rubbing the spots with a slice of tuber. At the same time, such a procedure will relieve fatigue, tighten the face contour and remove excess sebum.
Potato juice for digestive problems
Potato juice is especially useful for stomach ulcers and gastritis, accompanied by the formation of excess acid. Due to its anti-inflammatory effect, juice from fresh potato tubers effectively neutralizes lesions of the mucous membrane, softens and relieves pain. For medicinal purposes, they first take small doses of juice, but gradually increase its consumption, bringing the daily intake to 100 ml three times a day. The strongest effect of the juice should be expected if you drink it half an hour before the main meal, in courses for a month.
Potatoes for hemorrhoids
For hemorrhoids, traditional medicine recommends using candles cut from a fresh tuber. Potato suppositories for hemorrhoids help by providing anti-inflammatory, drying and mild analgesic effects.
It is necessary to use such a folk remedy twice a day, pre-lubricating the candle with vegetable oil or, in the absence of allergies, with bee honey. Regular treatment of hemorrhoids with potato suppositories will allow you to feel relief in a week. The pain syndrome will decrease, and the inflammation may disappear altogether. The procedures are carried out in courses at monthly intervals.
Potato sprouts in traditional medicine
Traditionally, in folk medicine, potato sprouts are recommended as an effective antifungal and antiparasitic agent.
This part of the plant, not used for food due to the extremely high content of solanine, which is dangerous to humans, can be useful in combating allergic reactions and inflammation of the skin. They have sprouts and a pronounced cardiostimulating effect. They use drugs based on potato sprouts for joint pain, effective against arthritis and gout, benign tumors and some eye diseases.
The healing properties of potato flowers
Like potato sprouts, the flowers of this plant have also found application in folk medicine, which have antifungal, analgesic and cardiac stimulating effect. Potato buds and inflorescences are used for exacerbations of allergies, including allergic rhinitis and cough. Since such medicinal properties of potato flowers are due to the presence of solanine and other active compounds, it is necessary to use preparations on such a plant basis very carefully.
A decoction of flowers helps to lower blood pressure, and a pinch of powder from crushed corollas gently relieves symptoms of heartburn.
Potato harm
Despite the many benefits of potatoes, harm from the use of this culture and preparations based on it is also not excluded. Health damage can be caused if:
- poisoning with solanine, which is formed in the peel and surface layers of tubers under the influence of sunlight and has a toxic effect on the body;
- overdose of easily digestible high-calorie potato dishes, leading to metabolic disorders, obesity and diabetes mellitus;
- overabundance of fried potato dishes on the menu, which absorb a lot of oil and harm digestion.
Do not forget that the measure of the benefits and harms of potatoes depends on the amount of tubers consumed, which have insufficient composition to provide a person with all the trace elements, vitamins, acids and salts he needs. By giving preference to potato dishes in the diet, you can condemn yourself to a decrease in overall endurance, dullness of libido and depression of nervous activity and digestive problems, especially with low acidity.
Toxic substances formed in the light can cause poisoning not only when using green parts of fresh tubers or juice from them, but also a decoction of potatoes, which is useful under other circumstances.
Solanine accumulates not only in tubers, but also in sprouts; this substance is present in inflorescences, fruits and tops of potatoes.
The result of poisoning with this compound manifests itself in nausea and vomiting, dizziness, diarrhea, headaches, shortness of breath and shortness of breath, as well as general weakness and poor health.
Solanine is especially dangerous for pregnant women and young children.
When eating greened or long-stored tubers, peel them off with a thick layer, simultaneously breaking off all the sprouts. And when using traditional medicine from potato sprouts and inflorescences, it is important to strictly adhere to the dosages and be sure to consult with a specialist about the available contraindications.