A new study suggests that protein derived from potatoes can be of high quality and help a person develop and maintain muscle mass.
The research, which appears in the journal Nutrients, could be important now that an increasing number of people are transitioning toward plant-based diets. These diets have an impact on a range of factors, including physical health, environmental sustainability, and exercise performance capacity. When considering the quality of protein, people often draw a distinction between animal-based and plant-based proteins.
According to a 2019 review in the journal Nutrients, while plant-based diets offer health and environmental benefits, few single sources of plant protein provide all the beneficial amino acids associated with a protein source. Plant-based protein can also be more difficult to digest, so some of the potential nutritional value may be lost. By contrast, animal-based proteins contain all the amino acids that a person needs, and they are generally easier to digest.
More people are moving toward a plant-based diet as it is environmentally sustainable and generally more healthful than a diet heavy in meat and dairy.
As lead author Sara Oikawa, a former graduate student in the department of kinesiology at McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada, notes, “[w]hile the amount of protein found in a potato is small, we grow lots of potatoes and the protein, when isolated, it can provide some measurable benefits.”
In general, animal-based protein requires far more land and other resources than plant-based proteins. According to a 2018 study, “plant-based replacement diets can produce 20-fold and twofold more nutritionally similar food per cropland than beef and eggs, the most and least resource-intensive animal categories, respectively.”
As a consequence, understanding the role of plant protein, such as that derived from potatoes, in human health is important.
STEVIA EXTRACT REDUCES SIGNS OF FATTY LIVER DISEASE: Fatty liver disease, or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, involves the liver being made up of more than 5% fat.
There is currently no cure for the condition, which can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. Although the exact cause of fatty liver disease is still unclear, risk factors include obesity and high sugar consumption.
The condition is becoming increasingly common in children, in which case doctors refer to it as pediatric nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Investigators from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, in California, have led a new study in mice to see whether replacing sugar with sweeteners could help combat the disease.
