Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Development of the Potato Industry," and will use the potato as a staple food product for industrial development. The comments indicate that potatoes will gradually become the fourth largest staple food in China after rice, wheat and corn. The news immediately sparked heated discussions. Some netizens said that they would no longer ridicule the British national diet of mashed potatoes. Potatoes are nutritionally unique compared to other staple foods The impression that people have always had on potatoes has mostly stayed on the impression that they have a high starch content and are likely to cause obesity. The data showed that: 100 grams of fresh potatoes contain 17.2 grams of carbohydrates, 100 grams of steamed rice contains 25.9 grams of carbohydrates, and 100 grams of steamed bread contains 47 grams of carbohydrates... In fact, the carbohydrates contained in potatoes are lower than those of daily consumption. Rice, taro, bread and other foods. According to the same amount of starch, 1 kg of dried rice is equivalent to about 4 kg of potatoes; 1 kg of cooked rice is equivalent to about 1.5 kg of cooked potatoes. In addition, the vitamins and minerals in potatoes are also well received by nutrition experts. Fan Zhihong, associate professor of nutrition and food safety at the Food College of China Agricultural University, said in his blog: “Various potatoes contain not only vitamin C that is not found in grains, but are also rich in B vitamins that are deficient in rice. The content of vitamin C in potatoes is comparable to that of tomatoes, and because of the protection of starch, the cooking loss of vitamin C is relatively small.†Wang Xingguo, director of nutrition department of Dalian Central Hospital, pointed out that the carotene contained in potatoes is much higher than White rice is not as much as two times as reported in some media reports. Potatoes as a staple food or have a positive effect on blood sugar control Whether it is for obese people or for people with diabetes, controlling postprandial blood glucose fluctuations, inhibiting rapid and massive insulin secretion are important factors in weight control and diabetes control. A reasonable diet is an important means. Although rice and potatoes both contain starch, it is likely to cause an increase in blood glucose after a meal, but as a staple food for potato, blood sugar rises at a slower rate than rice flour, and domestic blood sugar test data prove that the blood glucose response of potato and sweet potato is higher than Oats and buckwheat are high, but lower than rice, taro, and bread. This is because of the dietary fiber and resistant starch contained in potatoes, which causes the slow digestion of the potatoes, the slowing of blood sugar rise, which makes it easy to control postprandial blood glucose and control insulin. secretion. Adding to the fact that potatoes are easy to be full and slow to digest, people are also less likely to feel hungry, reduce food intake and help lose weight. Fan Zhihong believes that: “If we can substitute some potatoes such as potatoes, it will help prevent obesity and help control blood pressure, and it will have no adverse impact on diabetes prevention. At the same time, various vitamin intakes will increase dramatically. There are more fibers, more minerals, and it is greatly beneficial to improve the quality of nutrition in a day." The use of potatoes as a staple food requires special attention to protein supplementation. Although potatoes contain many advantages, there are also shortcomings that are difficult to make up from a nutritional point of view. That is, it contains almost no protein. The data shows that 7 grams of protein is contained in 100 grams of steamed bread, and 7.7 grams of protein is contained in 100 grams of rice, and only 2 grams of protein is contained in 100 grams of fresh potatoes. Ma Guansheng, deputy director of the Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, pointed out: "Potatoes are rich in nutrients, and it is recommended in the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents that the consumption of potatoes should be appropriately increased, eating about 5 times per week, and eating 50 times each time. ~100g, but due to the low content of potato protein, children will eat too much for a long time, it will adversely affect their growth and development." Therefore when potatoes are staple foods, it should be targeted to increase protein intake, can be with potatoes Beans or rice are mixed as a staple food, or a small amount of high-quality animal protein intake such as lean meat, liver, fish and shellfish is added daily. In addition, when it is not accustomed to using potatoes as a staple food, it is best not to immediately change the staple food to whole potatoes, especially families with elderly people and children in the family. This can gradually increase the proportion and frequency of potatoes as a staple food, while paying attention to maintaining a balanced diet. . Yancheng Rongtai Labware Co.,Ltd , https://www.shtestlab.com