An Inside Look at Potatoes

600 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Cultural importance of potatoes

What is so extraordinary about a potato? Potatoes became a beneficial source of nutrients around the world. Potatoes originated in South America and were given to the European travelers who took them back to their lands and began to plant them. From the beginning of the first migration which dates back to 8,000 BCE, there have been potatoes. I chose to do potatoes as a topic because I like eating potatoes and wanted to know a little more about them. I never expected to find out so much information about a vegetable that I thought to be very basic. Potatoes are a very fascinating topic. Over time the potato has become popular because it has good nutrition, it can be cooked many ways and it has been positively and negatively changed by genetic modification.
Nutrition in any food is a good thing, but specifically in potatoes because people have been eating them for centuries. What do you get out of eating a potato? Eating a potato gives you a great source of the recommended daily intake of vitamin C, and a good source of vitamins B1, B3 and B6, as well as minerals, including potassium, phosphorus and magnesium. These vitamins and minerals help with the production of energy in the body. You need energy so that you can do daily actives such as focus on a research paper, or walk up a flight of stairs. The potato was recently discovered to have a molecule that helps lower blood sugar. Potatoes help the body maintain a sort of balance that allows us to digest it slowly, keeping us fuller longer, and giving the body a better source of energy to burn when it is finally digested. Can decreasing the vitamin C in potatoes be risky?
Cooking potatoes actually decreases the amount of vitamin C in a normally raw potato. What other nutrients are f...

... middle of paper ...

... Journal of Experimental Botany, 62.10 (2011): 3251-261.
Jouany, J.-P., J. Gobert, B. Medina, G. Bertin, and V. Julliand.
"Effect of Live Yeast Culture Supplementation on Apparent Digestibility and Rate of Passage in Horses Fed a High-fiber or High-starch Diet." Journal of Animal Science 86.2 (2007): 339-47.

Daly, Mark E., Catherine Vale, Mark Walker, Alison Littlefield, K George MM Alberit, and John C. Mathers.
"Acute Effects on Insulin Sensitivity and Diurnal Metabolic Profiles of a High-sucrose Compared with a High-starch Diet1–3." The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1997): n. pag

Kirby, W. F.
"The Colorado Potato Beetle." Nature 64.1662 (1901): 450.
Klingspohn, U., J. Bader, B. Kruse, P. Vijai Kishore, K. Schügerl, H.-A. Kracke-Helm, and Z. Likidis.
"Utilization of Potato Pulp from Potato Starch Processing." Process Biochemistry 28.2 (1993): 91-98.

Show More
Related

  • Drug and Medication: Lexapro

    1706 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ramachandria, C. T., Subramanyan, N., Bar, K. J., Baker, G., & Yeragani, V. K. (n.d.).

    Read More

  • Fast Food Nation Summary

    1394 Words  | 3 Pages

    Schlosser sets off chapter 5: “Why the Fries Taste Good,” in Aberdeen, Idaho at the J. R. Simplot Plant where he introduces John Richard Simplot, “America’s great potato baron,” (Schlosser 111). Simplot dropped out of school at 15, left home, and found work on a potato farm in Declo, Idaho making 30 cents an hour. Simplot bought and turned profit on some interest-bearing scrip from some school teachers and used the money to at 600 hogs at $1 a head. He feed the hogs horse meat from wild horses he shot himself, later selling them for $12.50 a head. At age 16 Simplot leased 160 acres to begin growing Russet Burbank Potatoes. In the 1920s the potato industry was just picking up as Idaho was discovered to have the ideal soil and conditions for successfully growing potatoes (Schlosser 112). Soon Simplot was the “largest shipper of potatoes in the West, operating 33 warehouses in Oregon and Idaho,” (Schlosser 113). During World War II Simplot sold dehydrated potatoes and onions to the U.S. Army. By the time he was 36 he “was growing his own potatoes, fe...

    Read More

  • A Discussion of Disco Di

    1727 Words  | 4 Pages

    Tadić, A., Wagner, S., Hoch, J., Başkaya, Ö., von Cube, R., Skaletz, C., ... & Dahmen, N. (2009).

    Read More

  • Corn: Its Vital Role in the World

    1385 Words  | 3 Pages

    In conclusion, corn has come a long way since its first domestication. It began as a prized possession to the Natives as they worshipped corn goddesses and had steady rituals allowing them to receive the corn and give thanks for the corn. The views for the United States seem to be produce as much as possible – and profit from it. China and Hungary aim to produce corn as well but limit themselves to unmodified corn. Although all the groups previously mentioned have/had their own way of viewing corn, one thing is for certain: corn is a popular plant and is presently essential to our lives.

    Read More

  • The Phenomenal Discovery of Vitamins and Citrus Fruits

    1873 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ascorbic acid is an extremely vital element that is present in many fruits and vegetables, like oranges, lemons, tomatoes, broccoli and etc. But since it can break down easily with the presence of heat, it can be lost during cooking. That is why most foods have added vitamin C. The recommended daily amount of Vitamin C for adults is between 75mg to 90 mg. However, taking too much of Vitamin C can cause harm.

    Read More

  • The Man Who Was Almost a Man

    586 Words  | 2 Pages

    Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X. Day, Robert Funk, and Linda S. Coleman.

    Read More

  • Causes Of The Great Potato Famine

    1138 Words  | 3 Pages

    Due to the relative ease of growing the potato it became the major staple in the diet of the people in Ireland. An Irish legend wrecked of the Irish coast in 1558, were carrying potatoes and some of them washed ashore (Stradley, 2004). The potato was cultivated by the Inca Indians from Peru in about 8,000 B.C. to 5,000 B.C. (Potatoes Goodness Unearthed, 2014). It is believed that the potato arrived in Northern Europe because of Spanish exploration (Mann, 2011). Forty percent of the Irish ate no solid food other than potatoes. In fact, according to Cecil Woodham-Smith, "That cooking any food other than a potato had become a lost art. Women hardly boiled anything but potatoes. The oven had become unknown after the introduction of the potato prior to the Great Starvation." Small land holders could grow potatoes easily ...

    Read More

  • The Great Potato Famine

    1350 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Great Potato Famine was a problem that did not only cause starvation and disease but a drop in the economy. Known as the greatest epidemic of the 19th century the Potato Famine will have forever made an impact on Ireland. The Irish were damned from the start with little to no assistance from England with the exception of what they could get for themselves. With laws restricting the grain trade and no regulation on other goods Ireland had no fighting chance to make a turn around. With England living off of the principle “Irish property must pay for Irish poverty” Ireland was in need of outside assistance and that is exactly what many countries came to do.

    Read More

  • Why Is Vitamin C Important

    300 Words  | 1 Pages

    Citrus fruits such as oranges and grapefruit and their juices are rich in vitamin C. Broccoli, strawberries, cantaloupe, baked potatoes, and tomatoes are rich with Vitamin C. Vitamin C deficiency is rare. For those people who do not get enough vitamin C, they result with Vitamin C deficiency, which means lacking of sufficient amount of vitamin C in diet. Overtime, lacking of vitamin C cause the inability to form new collagen. This causes breaking down various tissues in our bodies, which affects tissues' repair and health. Scurvy is one of the serious disease that comes out with vitamin C deficiency. This disease causes various tissues sign and symptoms such as: fatigue, inflammation of the gums, small red or purple spots on the skin, joint pain, poor wound healing, corkscrew hairs, swelling , bleeding gums and loosening or loss of teeth is an example. Also, Rickets, Beriberi and Pellagra are names of diseases that caused by lack of vitamin

    Read More

  • The Effects Of The Potato Famine

    1648 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...Irish and British people had bitter feelings towards one another. Many Irish were angry the English government did next to nothing to prevent the famine. Then when it happened the government turned their heads. The anger caused a rebellion in 1848 by a group called the Young Ireland party, saying Ireland wanted its own government (Results of the Great Famine, 2014).

    Read More

  • Comparison Of Autocratic And Transformational Leadership Theories

    1227 Words  | 3 Pages

    Schreuder, Jolanda A. H.; Roelen, Corné A. M.; van Zweeden, Nely F.; Jongsma, Dianne; van der Klink, Jac J. L.; Groothoff, Johan W.

    Read More

  • Vitamin C Content in Fruit Juices

    1793 Words  | 4 Pages

    Vitamin C also known as ascorbic acid is needed for growth and maintenance of healthy tissues, especially skin, blood vessels, bones, gums, teeth. Vitamin C aids in resistance against infection and healing of wounds. It also helps the body absorb iron from food. Vitamin C can be found in green vegetables, potatoes, tomatoes and citrus fruits such as oranges and lemon. A lack of vitamin C can cause scurvy, iron deficiency and poor wound healing. A healthy diet should include a high amount of vitamin C because the human body cannot produce its own vitamin C.

    Read More

  • Lab Report Testing the Effects of Changing Surcrose Concentration on Osmosis in Plant Cells

    1287 Words  | 3 Pages

    I intend to use potatoes for my investigation because these are sufficiently large, to enable all cores to be taken from the same potato, which will assist in ensuring a fair test.

    Read More

  • Interview With a Parent of a Child with Special Needs

    1355 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gerald Mahoney, Ann Kaiser, Luigi Girolametto, James MacDonald, Cordelia Robinson, Philip Safford, and Donna Spiker

    Read More

  • Vitamin C

    1520 Words  | 4 Pages

    There are only two negative aspects of vitamin C. It is not produced in the human body, so a person needs to have a daily intake of at least 60 mg (recommended daily value) to stay healthy (5). There are many ways for a person to obtain vitamin C. One way is to take a daily vitamin that contains 100% of the recommended amount. Other ways to receive the amount needed is to eat foods that are rich in vitamin C. Some fruit rich in vitamin C are oranges, grapefruit, watermelon, and strawberries. Some vegetables that contain a high amount of vitamin C are asparagus, brussel s...

    Read More

More about An Inside Look at Potatoes

Open Document