How potato salad is good for the gut - Goodness Me Nutrition (2024)

FAQs

How potato salad is good for the gut - Goodness Me Nutrition? ›

You May Improve Your Gut Health

When you cook potatoes or pasta, then let them cool, they form resistant starch – a substance that can be hugely beneficial to the good bacteria trying to grow in your gut.

Like soluble fiber, the resistant starch in potatoes acts as a prebiotic, compounds that are helpful to the bacteria in your gut. Like insoluble fiber, it can prevent or treat constipation and irritable bowel syndrome.

If potatoes are cooked and then left to cool, the active starch is turned back into resistant starch, in a process known as retrogradation. When this starch reaches your large intestine it begins to ferment, which helps to create a wealth of good bacteria in your gut.

Potatoes are loaded with nutrients including fiber, vitamin C and potassium – they're also free of fat and cholesterol. No matter which recipe you choose, potatoes are often accompanied by good-for-you veggies and herbs like celery, onions, carrots, parsley, dill and basil.

Research suggests that potassium could have an analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect in people with rheumatoid arthritis. Since potatoes are high in potassium, this further suggests that potatoes do not increase inflammation.

You may have a healthier gut.

"Salads are often also filled with polyphenols, which can promote the growth of good bacteria in the gut." A 2019 review in Nutrients states that when polyphenols from food reach the gut microbes, they modify the microflora and have prebiotic and antimicrobial properties.

Potatoes are abundant in potassium, says the National Institutes of Health, a mineral that supports your nerves, muscles, kidneys and heart. Potassium also plays a key role in regulating blood pressure.

Fill Up On Fiber

Eating more fiber can improve the health and variety of different types of good bacteria in our gut. Higher-fiber foods like fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains also contain prebiotics, which are a type of fiber which helps nourish gut bacteria.

Resistant starch from potatoes is mostly converted into the short-chain fatty acid butyrate — the preferred food source for gut bacteria ( 15 , 16 ). Studies have shown that butyrate can reduce inflammation in the colon, strengthen the colon's defenses and reduce the risk of colorectal cancer ( 17 ).

Is cold potato salad good for you? ›

Cold potatoes don't spike blood sugar levels

This helps if you're trying to manage your blood sugars, for example if you are pre-diabetic. So using up your excess potatoes is great for avoiding food waste, better for your blood sugar, and tasty for your gut microbes. Cold potatoes really are good for our gut health!

Some of the recommended foods for constipation include both types of fiber. For example, potatoes and apples have soluble fiber inside, and insoluble fiber in the outer skin.

They're also chock full of starch, which is a carbohydrate. But even though a potato is considered a complex “healthy” carb, your body digests these carbs faster than other kinds of complex carbs. These broken-down carbs flood your blood with sugar. This makes your blood sugar spike quickly.

Overall, potatoes contain more vitamins and nutrients than rice. And if given the choice between rice or potatoes, 9 times out of 10, we would certainly go with potatoes simply because they are more versatile and can be made in many different ways.

Studies show that people who eat cabbage and other brassica vegetables have significantly lower risk of certain cancers. Cup for cup, coleslaw also typically has fewer calories (94 versus 357) and less sodium than potato salad.

Assuming your potato salad is stored in the refrigerator, the USDA recommends that it be consumed within five days of when it was mad. But keep in mind, five days is intended as the absolute maximum and this rule only applies if the salad was held at a temperature below the danger zone range the entire time.

Sweet potatoes are lower on the glycemic index

This means that potatoes break down more quickly into sugar in your digestive tract, causing your blood sugar to spike. These measures are important because eating foods with a generally lower glycemic index may help lower your blood sugar and manage your weight.

Fiber content: Potato peels are a good source of dietary fiber, both soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber helps lower cholesterol levels and stabilize blood sugar levels, while insoluble fiber supports digestive health by promoting regular bowel movements and preventing constipation.

If corn regularly doesn't break down in the guts of folks without UC, it may cause some real digestive issues among those who do. But that doesn't mean you have to say no to every side dish, Linke says. If you want potato salad, for example, make it without traditional mayo. (This UC recipe is dairy-free, too.)

Processed and Snack Foods: Snack foods often contain gluten, sugar, inflammatory oils, and other additives. Includes chips, cakes, cookies, pretzels, etc. Junk Food: The sugar infoods such as candy, cake, cookies, and treats feeds bad bacteria and may increase leaky gut.