Ha Ha Haaaaa
Posted on 06/25/2007 3:22:59 PM PDT by blam
Source: Society of Chemical Industry
Date: June 25, 2007
Potato Salad May Help the Immune System
Science Daily — It has long been known that eating potatoes is good for bowel health, but new research suggests that they may also have a beneficial effect on the whole immune system. Especially if eaten cold or in a potato salad, Anne Pichon reports in Chemistry & Industry.
Spanish researchers found that growing pigs fed large quantities of raw potato starch (RPS) had a healthier bowel. Not a surprise, but they also found that RPS pigs had decreased levels of white blood cells, such as leucocytes and lymphocytes in their blood. White blood cells are produced as a result of inflammation or disease, generally when the body is challenged.
The general down-regulation of leucocytes observed by the Spanish researchers suggests an overall beneficial effect, a generally more healthy body, according to immunology expert Lena Ohman at the Department of Internal Medicine, Göteborg University, Sweden. A reduction in leucocyte levels of about 15% was observed in the RPS pigs. Lower lymphocyte levels are also indicative of reduced levels of inflammation, but according to Ohman, the observed reduction in both lymphocyte density and lymphocyte apoptosis by the Spanish researchers is surprising.
Pigs were fed RPS over 14 weeks in what is the longest study of it kind on the effect of starch on bowel health (Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture doi:10.1002/jsfa.2835). Study leader José Francisco Pérez at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain, said: 'The use of raw potato starch in this experiment is designed to simulate the effects of a diet high in resistant starch' says Pérez.
Humans do not eat raw potatoes, but they do eat a lot of foods that contain resistant starch, such as cold boiled potatoes, legumes, grains, green bananas, pasta and cereals About 10% of the starch eaten by human is resistant starch - starch that is not digested in the small intestine and so is shunted into the large intestine where it ferments.
Starch consumption is thought to reduce the risk of large bowel cancer and may also have an effect on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Ohman's team previously found that the overall lymphocyte levels do not vary for IBS patients, but that lymphocytes are transferred from the peripheral blood to the gut, which support the hypothesis of IBS being at least partially an inflammatory disorder. She says the decrease in lymphocytes observed by the Spanish is therefore interesting, and a diet of resistant starch may be worth trying in IBS patients.
Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Society of Chemical Industry.
Ha Ha Haaaaa
LOL! Tater Salad appreciates the tribute, I’m sure.
Care to give us the recipe?
ping.....
I’ve been waiting for that medical study all my life. I never met a potato I didn’t like.
Ok, so now I have to wait until my french fries ... baked potato ... mashed or smashed potatoes ... boild new potatoes ... au gratin ... get cold before I can benefit form this studies results? What about my cold potato chips? Frito Lay will be advertising these newly discovered health benefits soon.
When I was a kid, I used to dig up the potato plants when the potatoes were just setting on, rub the dirt off on my shirt and eat them.
I would strip a few hills at a time.
I always straightened up the plants and tidied up the rows so nobody would notice, but boy did my mom yell come time to harvest when she found all those empty hills.
Gee I hope they find that french fries are good for you too.
Taters are quite good for you. They’re very high in Potassium, whch is good for your blood pressure and nerve health. Most Americans are deficient.
They got a bad rap because of all the stuff people heap on them.
Last I heard, potatoes also are the highest yield crop there is. But they can be tough on the soil.
Hope that includes potato & egg salad. I love the stuff.
Does this mean that a huge baked Idaho Russet smothered in butter is actually good for me and my wife is wrong???
Uh, that’s “freedom fries”.........
(they originated in Belgium)
Anyway, hot German potato salad is the best. And don’t forget the crumbled bacon. It’s good cold, too. Gemuetlich!
Potato Salad? Ribs? Corn? - Gives me a chance to once again plug my favorite BBQ joint in the whole wide world!
http://www.curtisbbqvt.com/index.html
http://www.curtisbbqvt.com/menu.html
Jah Vohl, mit bacon, mustard and red potatoes. Give me that over the mayo/chopped olives stuff any day! Good eatin’!
I just discovered the best potato chips. Cape Cod "Robust Russet".
Made with just three ingredients: Russet Potatoes, Canola Oil, Salt. Absolutely not greasy. Great flavor.
..psssst go with the smart balance (green/yellow label) buttery sub..really not bad...I cheat and I'm down -45 lbs since Feb 3rd...LOL
Doogle
All 2,000 types of potatos are native to peru. They created a human population explosion when the Spanish took them back to Europe.
The Irish wouldn't have had such a potato famine if they hadn't invested all in only one potato type.
There are other potatoes in Peru that are resistant to the disease that clobbered the Irish potato crop.
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