New Scientific Review Suggests Potato Tuber May Play Role in Cardiometabolic Health

9 Sep 2013 --- During a McCain sponsored press conference held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands last Tuesday, various potential health benefits of potatoes and multiple efficiencies of the potato crop were discussed. This event took place at the same time as physicians from around the world were discussing advances in medical prevention and management of widespread cardiometabolic diseases such as high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.

With cardio-metabolic diseases representing the world’s leading cause of premature death and the concept of ‘sustainable nutrition’ at the heart of insuring access to safe and nutritious foods today and tomorrow, these two topics have now become major public issues.

A recently published article in the Annals of Medicine entitled “The Role of Potatoes and Potato Components in Cardio-metabolic Health: A Review”, looked at the impact of potato consumption on several key cardio-metabolic health measures including blood pressure, cholesterol, inflammation, glycemic response, body weight and other risk factors in animals and humans. Lead author Prof.. Jean-Davignon, O.C., M.D., M. Sc., FRCP(C), FACP, FACN, FAHA, MSRC, and present at the conference says that “although more clinical trials are needed to confirm the data that our review suggests relative to the health benefits of potatoes, it is important to note that potatoes have high nutrient density and low energy density”. The study says that potatoes provide several key nutrients such as vitamin C, potassium, and dietary fiber and contain other elements that have been shown to have favorable impacts on certain measures of cardiometabolic health. When eaten in reasonable quantities and with a variety of other healthy foods, this humble tuber can contribute to a healthy dietary pattern. “Potatoes contain a host of macro and micronutrients that are indispensable to life, including amounts of vitamin C that can be equal or sometimes higher than what is found in oranges and potassium levels that rival with those contained in bananas” he added. The protein content, although relatively low in potatoes is of similar quality to that of soya that vegetarians eat to avoid protein deficiencies.

Prof. Anton Haverkort, PhD, Plant Research International – Wageningen University and Research Centre in the Netherlands, highlighted both the nutritional and environmental value of the potato crop in comparison to other food crops. “Potato is a very well performing crop in that its is most efficient when it comes to sustainable utilization of soil, water and nutrients and its possible benefits from climate change"  he announced. Indeed, no other crop can be grown in the wide variety of adverse climate and soil conditions or with limited water supplies as has been noted for potatoes, compared to other major food crops. At the same time, the potato and the thousands of varieties in which this vegetable can be grown., provide a lot of nutrients and phytonutrients including dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

As food safety and sustainability concerns increase worldwide, the nutritional value of foods needs to be correlated with environmental aspects. This is where the potato, as the world’s 4th most important food crop plays a major role. Jean Bernou, President of McCain Europe commented on how this family owned enterprise, totally committed to potatoes since the company was founded, has been working closely with growers for over 50 years to improve potato farming, harvesting and storage so that people will be able to enjoy what represents for many their favorite food and its nutritious value.. While progress in these areas has always been a top priority, little was communicated around the company’s investments and efforts. Today, for the sake of transparency and to encourage these types of efforts elsewhere, the company is sharing both its achievements and its know-how.

The potato and especially  French fries are highly consumed but poorly understood. This starchy food has been correlated to obesity making it important to understand what consumption habits can help to avoid such problems. The impact on body weight, as with most other foods, depends on portion size, consumption frequency and most importantly the types of accompanying foods and drinks. Educational efforts are therefore needed to help consumers make the choices that are most appropriate for them, their level of physical activity and lifestyle habits in general. No matter how healthy certain foods may be, if they are not tasty, they will not be consumed. Thus, the new triple win paradigm for responsible foods according to McCain, is to invest in the health aspects, environmental considerations and pleasure from taste and texture.