Tag: Potatoes

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Food & Nutrition

Which Gives More Health Benefits? Sweet Or Irish Potato

Sweet and Irish Potatoes

I had never thought of writing about this topic until a friend asked about it during one of the events I attended over the weekend. It was then I knew there could be many more people out there who do not know which is best for them to consume and the main differences or similarities between the two vegetables. It is important to state that it is erroneous to call them tubers just because of their resemblance to yam particularly sweet potatoes.

In some countries, the Irish potato is called white potato and there has been endless argument about which of the two vegetables is healthier for consumption either for the young or old. Potatoes, whether Irish or not, are generally a good inclusion into our diets. So, it is critical for you to note that either of both will improve your overall nutrition.

Sweet and Irish Potatoes

The chemical composition of both vegetable remains a tool that can make us see the nutrient levels in both veg. One area people are quite particular about is the amount of calories as most people seem to be on the train of losing some pounds o flesh. While sweet potato provides 90kcal per 100gram, Irish provides 93kcal per 100gram……making both vegetable close in calorie value. There is really no need to consider this factor when choosing which one to consume.

In the same amount of serving, both vegetables contain the same amount of carbohydrate with sweet potato containing about 3.3g of fibre in a 100g serving while Irish potatoes contains only 2.2g of fibre in the same 100g serving; making potatoes a good diet for people particularly children who have digestion issues.

The fat and protein content also are of similar levels. In both veg, there are no fat but they both contain some amount of protein. A 100 g serving of Irish potato contains 2.5 g of protein and the sweet potato contains 2 g of protein. In the case of vitamins, sweet potatoes provides more amount of vitamin A and C compared to Irish potatoes while Irish potato provides more amount of mineral (Iron and Potassium) than sweet potatoes.

For me, it is really a difficult one to determine which one is healthier in both as the two foods have their strengths and are majorly similar in some nutrients content. Depending on what health condition you are trying to treat or manage, one of the two foods may appear more appropriate for your situation. However, it does not render the other as less healthy or not healthy for consumption.

Categories
Knowledgebase

4 Foods You Should Not Keep In The Freezer

frozen tomatoes
Photo: pbs.org

There are just some foods you should not keep in the freezer. I have friends that think the only way to keep the leftover of foods is by putting them in the freezer. God, this always makes me sick and I try every time to correct them but it just keeps repeating itself.

From bread to fruits, vegetables, and soups, they keep anything that remains of those foods in the freezer. Yes, I know cold storage is an effective way to keep and preserve foods to last longer but I can tell you it is not suitable for every type of food.

do not freeze

In this article, you will see some food materials you should not freeze or even refrigerate. You will also get to know the reasons why you should not freeze them.

Foods You Should Not Keep In The Freezer And Why

Onions:

Placing uncut onions in the refrigerator makes them mushy and soggy by the time you take them out. When you remove the peel, you see that there is only one thing such onion is good for — bleeding with other types of foods.

You can no longer slice and dice such onions into foods because they would have lost their traditional colour (they have different colours). So, it’s best to keep your onions in an open, cool and dry place.

Watermelon:

It’s really an unpleasant sight when you bring a frozen watermelon out of the freezer. Apart from the fact that it no longer looks good, the flesh becomes fibrous and not easy to bite.

If you have ever tried eating a frozen watermelon that was thawed, you would know that such watermelon loses its kind of crunchy texture. They become fibrous and tough in the mouth. Also, research has shown that keeping them at room temperature might even help preserve the antioxidants present.

Tomatoes:

One of the things freezing does to your tomatoes is to damage its tissues — just like it does to many other foods. The only way most foods can be kept frozen is by using a rapid and uninterrupted freezing process.

frozen tomatoes
Photo: pbs.org

When you freeze your whole tomatoes and bring it outside, what you have is nothing more than the juice and flesh of the tomatoes with the skin peeling off. You can no longer slice this kind of tomatoes. All you can now do is to blend with other foods.

Potatoes:

You cannot put potatoes in the freezer for more than one reason. You should not even refrigerate your potatoes because the cold temperature makes them develop a sweet taste to the level that it becomes unpleasant.

This happens due to the conversion of starch in the potatoes to sugar. This increase in sugar will cause potatoes to darken when cooked. It is usually recommended to let your refrigerated potatoes cool totally — if you refrigerate them before you cook them. This will help reduce the level of discolouration.

Even though freezing damages some food materials, its benefits outweighs those damages caused. If you still want your food to remain safe to eat over a long period, then freezing is a very good option.

Categories
Food & Body

Foods That Help Relieve Your Headache

migraine and headache

When a headache strikes, it most times render all your body system useless. It makes you very touchy while reducing the extent to which you concentrate at work or at home. Many are quick to funnel some tablets of paracetamol into their bodies in order to reduce the discomfort but they are sometimes shocked to see no improvement. In fact, this has been the norm whenever there is an occurrence of headaches for many people.

migraine and headache

How Some Foods Can Help Get Rid Of Headache

Have you ever asked yourself; if your headaches could be a result of certain foods or micro-nutrients that are lacking in your diets? Yes, this can be very true and this is what has caused a headache in many people. Let us see some of the foods that will help you eliminated headaches if regularly included in your diet.

WATERMELON:

There is no gainsaying that the major cause of headaches is the lack of enough water and certain minerals in the body. With this understanding, to mitigate against the constant pounding of your head, it is essential to have an adequate serving of watermelon which has 90% water content and yet is loaded with a mineral such as magnesium that helps reduce the pains of headaches.

BAKED POTATO AND BANANA:

Alcohol-related headache is a common phenomenon, particularly among alcohol drinking men. Alcohol is diuretic and so causes loss of water from your body within a short period which leads to headaches due to loss of electrolytes such as potassium.

In order to restore your body back to normal, it is advisable to consume foods such as potato and banana that have the capacity to supply an adequate amount of potassium to your body.

ALMOND:

Almonds can be valuable food that can be enjoyed especially during stress time. Almonds have been researched to contain a good source of protein and amino acid with an abundant supply of magnesium, potassium, and even a little iron which are key minerals that can help relieve headaches.

SPINACH SALAD:

Are you hoping to quickly alleviate your pounding headache? then spinach salad with a combination of fruit like a carrot will help your condition. Like I itemized earlier, headache is majorly caused by dehydration with a lack of certain electrolytes. These vegetables are loaded with high moisture content and fiber which will alleviate the headache.

Having itemized some of the top foods that can help during headaches, it is important to state that you should at all times consume an adequate amount of water as dehydration is the major cause of headaches. Avoiding excessive alcohol would also help prevent alcohol-induced headaches.