The natural pigments in foods are colorful clues to find the nutrients that lie within.
Called “phytochemicals,” these healthful compounds found in fruits, vegetables, beans, grains and other plants provide a parade of protective effects such as curbing cancer, supporting immune function and improving heart, skin, brain and eye health. To tap into the benefits, eat a variety of foods in every shade of the rainbow. That includes the color white, as well.
Forget simplistic advice to “avoid all white foods” because white vegetables such as onions and garlic contain a health-promoting chemical called allicin, which helps lower cholesterol and blood pressure and may help reduce risk of stomach cancer. Cauliflower is an excellent source of vitamin C and the antioxidant phytonutrient quercetin.
Bananas and white potatoes are good sources of the mineral potassium, a key nutrient that helps control blood pressure. In fact, it might surprise you, but white potatoes are actually higher in potassium than bananas are. A small skin-on baked potato provides 738 milligrams of potassium while a banana contains 487 milligrams of potassium. Calorie for calorie, the white potato delivers more potassium than a banana.
Potassium is considered a shortfall nutrient of public health concern because USDA surveys show 97 percent of Americans do not consume enough. So, since white potatoes eaten baked, fried, mashed or boiled are one of the most popular vegetables on the menu, it’s good to know they can help fill in the potassium gap.
Emerging nutrition research also shows that potatoes, with or without the skin, are a good source of dietary fiber. At the recent Experimental Biology meeting, Maureen Storey, Ph.D., president of the Alliance for Potato Research and Education, presented a study showing people who eat white potatoes have higher intakes of potassium.
“The nutrient beauty of the white potato is not just skin deep,” Storey said. “The flesh alone is a significant source of key vitamins and minerals.”
Sweet potatoes, with their deep orange flesh, are a better source of beta carotene, which the body turns into vitamin A.
But white potatoes have their own good nutrition story to tell.
Other great whites
The white color of milk comes from the protein casein.
Enriched white rice contains more folic acid than brown rice.
While salmon and tuna get the big billing when it comes to nutrition because they contain heart-healthy omega-3 fats, white fish such as grouper, snapper, flounder and halibut are lower in total fat and are a great source of lean protein.
Enjoy a glass of white wine. Red wine may have gotten more attention, but white wines are heart-healthy, too, because it’s the alcohol content that seems to provide the protective punch.
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