September 2014
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It's been unseasonably warm here in the Washington, DC area, but we know it's autumn in the APRE offices as we prepare to attend the Food and Nutrition Conference & Expo (FNCE 2014) in Atlanta, October 18-21. APRE is pleased to participate in this dynamic gathering of thousands of registered dietitians and nutrition professionals each year. If you are planning to attend, please be sure to stop by and visit APRE at Booth #1862 to find out more about potato nutrition science and how this nutrient-dense vegetable contributes to a healthy diet for people of all ages.

Please visit the APRE website at www.apre.org to find out more and to get a variety of science-based potato nutrition resources. As always, we welcome your feedback, so please feel free to send your comments and suggestions to us at info@apre.org.  
 
Maureen Storey, PhD
APRE President and CEO

NEW STUDIES IN NUTRITION

Eating Potassium-rich Foods Cuts Stroke, Mortality Risk Among Older Women                

  

Postmenopausal women who eat foods higher in potassium such as potatoes are less likely to have strokes or to die from any cause than women who eat fewer potassium-rich foods, according to data from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI). The research, led by Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, was published online in the peer-reviewed journal Stroke.

   

"Previous studies have shown that higher potassium consumption may lower blood pressure. But whether potassium intake could prevent stroke or death wasn't clear," said senior author Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller, PhD, distinguished university professor emerita of epidemiology and population health and principal investigator at Einstein.

 

"Our findings give women another reason to eat their fruits and vegetables. They're good sources of potassium, and potassium not only lowers postmenopausal women's risk of stroke, but also of death." 

  

Researchers studied 90,137 postmenopausal women, ages 50 to 79, for an average of 11 years. They looked at how much potassium the women consumed, as well as if they had strokes, including ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes, or died during the study period. Women in the study were stroke-free at the start and their average dietary potassium intake was 2,611 mg/day-significantly below the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) current recommendation that adults eat at least 4,700 mg of potassium daily.

  

Results of this study are based on potassium from food, not supplements. The researchers found that women who ate the most potassium were 12 percent less likely to suffer stroke in general and 16 percent less likely to suffer an ischemic stroke (i.e., stroke caused by blood clot) than women who ate the least. Additionally, women who ate the most potassium were 10 percent less likely to die from any cause than those who ate the least.

  

Among women who did not have hypertension (their blood pressure was normal and they were not on any medications for high blood pressure), those who ate the most potassium had a 27 percent lower ischemic stroke risk and 21 percent reduced risk for all stroke types, compared to women who ate the least potassium in their daily diets. Among women with hypertension (their blood pressure was high or they were taking drugs for high blood pressure), those who ate the most potassium had a lower risk of death; but potassium intake did not lower their stroke risk beyond the benefit gained from taking their high-blood pressure drugs.   

 

The results suggest that higher dietary potassium intake may be more beneficial before high blood pressure develops. "Only 2.8 percent of women in our study met or exceeded the recommended intake of 4,700 mg of potassium daily," said Wassertheil-Smoller. "The World Health Organization's daily potassium recommendation for women is lower, at 3,510 mg or more. Still, only 16.6 percent of women we studied met or exceeded that. Our findings suggest that women need to eat more potassium-rich foods. Some foods high in potassium include white and sweet potatoes, leafy green vegetables such as spinach and kale, white beans and bananas. But you won't find high potassium in junk food." Read the paper here...  

 

 POTATO NUTRITION MEDIA

Delicious Living Magazine Serves Up Some Healthy Potato News Two Ways

            

Rachel Begun, MS, RD
In her Delicious Living Blog, nationally recognized food and nutrition expert and APRE nutrition communicator Rachel Begun, MS, RD, notes that everything old is new again--and that goes for food, too. Check out her post, "4 Healthy Foods Making a Comeback," to find out which four "old school" foods are regaining their nutritious reputations.

The top comeback kid? Potatoes. Referencing APRE-supported research about the health benefits of potatoes, Begun notes that science is restoring this white vegetable to its former glory. "One medium cooked potato with the skin on provides 13% of the recommended daily value for fiber, 24 percent for vitamin C, 23% for B6, and 23% for potassium, which plays a key role in regulating blood pressure," she writes. "That's impressive, especially considering that fiber and potassium are two of four nutrients most likely to be deficient in Americans' diets."       

Begun also contributed antoher small piece, "Potatoes: Dig It!," to Delicious Living's Annual Health and Wellness Guide, which noted that potatoes and other natural foods are enjoying a renaissance in the wake of new research that shows they are actually good for you. The potato is a great example, writes Begun, since despite their color, studies show that white potatoes do contain phytochemicals just like brighter-hued fruits and vegetables. 

GET THE FACTS
 
Did You Know?
  • When eaten in moderation, French fried potatoes can be part of a healthy, well-balanced diet.   
  • Frying, because it reduces water, increases the concentration of many of the important vitamins and minerals in potatoes, including shortfall nutrients such as potassium.  
  • According to APRE's analysis of NHANES data, gram-for-gram, French fried potatoes provide more potassium than most other vegetables.*
SCHOOL LUNCH

Lunch is Most Important Meal for Increasing Children's Fruit and Vegetable Intake                      

 

According to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), children aged 2-18 years are consuming more whole fruits and drinking less fruit juice, while vegetable intake remains unchanged. Despite this improvement, most children still do not consume enough fruits and vegetables.

 

"We talk about five servings a day being pretty easy to accomplish and while it may be easy, we are not getting there," said Sandy Procter, assistant professor of human nutrition and coordinator of the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program at Kansas State University. "I think as parents are preparing for back to school, it's important to realize that it's fairly simple to accomplish-you just have to plan ahead."

 

Procter emphasized that lunch is the most important meal for fruit and vegetable consumption for children. If fruits and vegetables are not consumed at lunch, then reaching the recommended five servings a day is going to be extremely difficult. Read a news article about the report at ScienceDaily

 

PARTNER POWER

MyPlate Top 10 Tips Guide on Making Healthy Foods More Fun for Children                       

 

USDA's MyPlate "10 Tips" Nutrition Education Series features a free downloadable PDF tipsheet, "Kid-Friendly Veggies and Fruits." The sheet advises that by making food preparation and serving fun, adults can better encourage children to eat their fruits and vegetables. Tip #9 suggests that making a "potato person" by decorating half a baked potato with sliced cherry tomatoes, peas and low-fat cheese to make a funny face is a terrific way to accomplish this!        

 

APRE is a National Strategic Partner of the USDA's MyPlate 

USDA MyPlate National Partner logo

campaign. Partnering organizations have a health mandate consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) and the USDA's Center for Nutrition Policy & Promotion. As a partner, APRE promotes the DGA and MyPlate messaging, such as "Make half your plate fruits and vegetables." 

 

SPUD NUTRITION SCIENCE

White Vegetables Supplement Papers
Now Free for Download  

Advances in Nutrition May 2013 cover   

Published in May 2013, the Advances in Nutrition peer-reviewed supplement, "White Vegetables: A Forgotten Source of Nutrients," features 10 papers by a group of noted scientists who conclude that potatoes and other white vegetables are just as important to a healthy diet as their colorful cousins in the produce aisle. All of the papers are now available as downloadable PDFs for free through the journal's open access program.

 

The journal supplement is the outcome of a June 2012 Purdue University roundtable on white vegetable nutrition, supported by an unrestricted grant by APRE. The authors identify a substantial body of evidence that demonstrates how the inclusion of white vegetables, such as potatoes, can increase intake of shortfall nutrients, notably fiber, potassium and magnesium, and can help increase overall vegetable consumption among children, teens and adults in the U.S.

Eric Decker 
Eric Decker, PhD 

FEATURE ARTICLE: This month's featured free supplement article is "Innovations in Food Chemistry and Processing to Enhance the Nutrient Profile of the White Potato in All Forms," by Eric A. Decker, PhD, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and Mario G. Ferruzzi, PhD, Purdue University. The authors examine the many positive nutrients found in potatoes and how these nutrients are affected by cooking and other food processing operations.

Mario Ferruzzi 
Mario Ferruzzi, PhD

 

In addition, they discuss how the nutritional content of potatoes is altered by cooking methods and how fried potatoes can have wide variations in fat content depending on the cooking method. The paper highlights several opportunities to use food processing operations and food science technology to enhance the overall nutritional profile of white potatoes prepared in all forms. Read the entire paper to get the details.

RESOURCES & DOWNLOADS

12-Page Mini-Guide Highlights Easy-on-the-Pocket Potatoes...and It's Easy on the Ink            

 

APRE, in partnership with Share Our Strength's Cooking Matters� and four other MyPlate National Strategic Partners, created the popular 44-page guide, Meeting Your MyPlate Goals on a Budget, packed with great tips for choosing affordable foods from each of the USDA MyPlate food groups.

Now, APRE is making available a 12-page mini-guide version, highlighting the affordability of the nutrient-rich white potato and featuring delicious, nutritious, budget-friendly recipes using America's favorite vegetable. Download the mini-guide in a printer-friendly PDF today!

Editor's note: USDA MyPlate now features the full 44-page guide on the ChooseMyPlate.gov website as part of its new Healthy Eating on a Budget campaign. Check out the section today to download the full version
  
Free Downloads: Potato Proud Infographics

Looking for a few good potato nutrition infographics? Look no further! Six new "Potato Proud" high-resolution images showcasing basic nutrition facts about the white potato are free to download at www.potatogoodness.com.

The fun, vintage retro-style infographics, created by the United States Potato Board, provide a variety of nutrition facts on these low-fat, nutrient-rich veggies! Get all six today and find out why it's time to get Potato Proud about nutrition facts!  

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The Alliance for Potato Research and Education (APRE) is a not-for-profit organization 100% dedicated to expanding and translating scientific research into evidence-based policy and education initiatives that recognize the role of all forms of the potato-a nutritious vegetable-in promoting health for all age groups. APRE is actively building the science foundation concerning the nutritional benefits of the white potato; creating partnerships with critical health professional organizations in the United States and Canada; and providing dietitians and health professionals with the latest scientific research and information on potato nutrition, consumption and affordability. For more, visit www.apre.org