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Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Purple Potatoes

Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory properties of white compared to yellow and purple potatoes. Purple potatoes may also help lower high blood pressure.

June 29, 2012 |
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Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Purple Potatoes, 5.0 out of 5 based on 5 ratings

Sources Cited

Galland L. Diet and inflammation. Nutr Clin Pract. 2010 Dec; 25(6):634-40.

Hermsdorff HH, Zulet MA, Puchau B, Martínez JA. Fruit and vegetable consumption and proinflammatory gene expression from peripheral blood mononuclear cells in young adults: a translational study. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2010 May 13; 7:42.

Watzl B. Anti-inflammatory effects of plant-based foods and of their constituents. Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 2008 Dec; 78(6):293-8.

Hermsdorff HH, Zulet MÁ, Abete I, Martínez. A legume-based hypocaloric diet reduces proinflammatory status and improves metabolic features in overweight/obese subjects. Eur J Nutr. 2011 Feb; 50(1):61-9.

Kaspar KL, Park JS, Brown CR, Mathison BD, Navarre DA, Chew BP. Pigmented potato consumption alters oxidative stress and inflammatory damage in men. J Nutr. 2011 Jan; 141(1):108-11.

Vinson JA, Demkosky CA, Navarre DA, Smyda MA. High-Antioxidant Potatoes: Acute in Vivo Antioxidant Source and Hypotensive Agent in Humans after Supplementation to Hypertensive Subjects. J Agric Food Chem. 2012 Feb 6.

Acknowledgements

Images thanks to Fir0002, flagstaffotos.com.au via Wikimedia Commons, and Peggy Greb.

Transcript

From a recent review on diet and inflammation by Dr. Leo Galland—who, actually used to be my doctor “Inflammation has recently emerged as an important aspect of the development of age-related infirmity and the major chronic diseases of industrialized societies, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimers, cancer. And we have markers of inflammation now, which are easy to measure and give a sense of how much inflammation there is in our bodies, which is predictive for the development of some of these diseases.
     We know plant-based food in general have anti-inflammatory effects, particularly fruits and vegetables, but not all plant foods. From a 2010 review, extra virgin olive oil decreases inflammatory markers compared to corn oil, or nonvirgin oli, tomato juice helps, but raw tomatoes don't appear to. Walnuts red wine, and flax meal work, garlic powder doesn’t. Mixed data on tea, but sweet cherries do indeed seem to decrease inflammation.
There were a few new studies published in 2011 to add to this list, o ne showing that those eating just 4 servings of legumes a week—lentils, chickpeas, peas, or beans— dropped C-reactive protein levels a whopping 40% in two months.
 And then, apparently the first study ever to address the effects of potato consumption on oxidation and inflammation in humans. And not just any potatoes, there's all sorts of new varieties out there. First they looked at regular potatoes, white russet potatoes. One steamed potato a day for 6 weeks. Inflammation, as measured by C-reactive protein levels in the blood, tended to go up. Next, potatoes with yellow flesh, did a bit better, but neither were significantly different than baseline. Only purple potatoes, potatoes with purple flesh, significantly decreased inflammation.
The same thing was found for oxidation. In this 2012 study, within hours of consumption, purple potatoes increased the antioxidant capacity of one's bloodstream, whereas white potato starch appeared to have a pro-oxidant effect. And purple potatoes also appeared to help lower blood pressure in folks with hypertension. They put people on 6-8 small microwaved purple potatoes a day and concluded “purple potatoes are an effective hypotensive agent and lower the risk of heart disease and stroke in hypertensive subjects without weight gain.”
 Combined withg the reduction in inflammation and DNA damage purple potatoes offer consumers an improved nutritional choice in potato consumption.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by Serena

To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org

Dr. Michael Greger

Doctor's Note

For more on anti-inflammatory foods, see Garden Variety Anti-Inflammation and Anti-Inflammatory Antioxidants. For more on choosing the foods with the most antioxidant power, check out Antioxidant Power of Plant Foods Versus Animal Foods. Then for other foods that may help tame high blood pressure, Hearts Shouldn’t Skip a Beet and Fill in the Blank. What about the Toxins in Cooked Potatoes? Sweet potatoes are indeed better, and purple sweet potatoes are the best of the best. These are the only ones I've tried, but they are fantastic. I have some videos on purple sweets coming up, but in the meanwhile feel free to browse the hundreds of other videos on more than a thousand subjects.

We know plant-based diets decrease markers of inflammation, but do all these anti-inflammatory plant foods actually have an impact on inflammatory disease mortality? Stay tuned for Monday's NutritionFacts.org video-of-the-day Fighting Inflammation in a Nut Shell.

For more context, check out my associated blog posts: How Does Meat Cause Inflammation?, Treating Crohn’s Disease With Diet, and  Lead Poisoning Risk From Venison

  • Michael Greger M.D.

    For more on anti-inflammatory foods, see Garden Variety Anti-Inflammation and Anti-Inflammatory Antioxidants. For more on choosing the foods with the most antioxidant power, check out Antioxidant Power of Plant Foods Versus Animal Foods. Then for other foods that may help tame high blood pressure, Hearts Shouldn’t Skip a Beet and Fill in the Blank. What about the Toxins in Cooked Potatoes? Sweet potatoes are indeed better, and purple sweet potatoes are the best of the best. These are the only ones I’ve tried, but they are fantastic. I have some videos on purple sweets coming up, but in the meanwhile feel free to browse the hundreds of other videos on more than a thousand subjects.
    We know plant-based diets decrease markers of inflammation, but do all these anti-inflammatory plant foods actually have an impact on inflammatory disease mortality? Stay tuned for Monday’s NutritionFacts.org video-of-the-day Fighting Inflammation in a Nut Shell.

    • HemoDynamic, M.D.

      On the ‘darker’ side of things:

      Purple potatoes, purple cabbage, Purple onions, purple corn, purple carrots, Beets, Dark green leafies, and lest us not forget Yellow Watermelon.

      Whom ever said ‘white is right’ disn’t see the science.

      Color me Purple baby! :-}

    • HemoDynamic, M.D.

      Purple potatoes (Purple Vodka?), Purple Wine, both antiinflammatory.  When are they going to make Purple Beer. 

      Oh, already done, Prickly Pear Pale Ale.  Check out this link:
      http://appellationbeer.com/blog/would-you-drink-a-purple-beer/

      This begs the question, Is it antiinflammatory?

      Inquiring minds want to know.  Hmmmm.  :}

  • Beth Genly, RN, CNM

    On the topic of decreased inflammatory markers,also see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20425759

    • HemoDynamic, M.D.

      Interesting.  But what happened to the fiber? :-}

      • Beth Genly, RN, CNM

         Well, fresh ripe veggies and fruits beat concentrates every time, of course.

  • Thea

    But what about the two varieties of Sweet Potatoes? (white flesh and orange flesh – often referred to as yams)  Did they not study that?  I tend to like the white flesh sweet potatoes and had been under the impression that they were a lot healthier than the regular white potatoes.  I’m pretty sure Dr. Greger has a video about this somewhere, but I wonder how the sweet potatoes would fit into this study/question on inflammation?

    • carfree

      There is also a purple-fleshed sweet potato called Okinawa sweet potato. It is so delicious and very common here in Hawaii.

      • Thea

         carfree:  Thanks for that interesting bit of info.  Sounds delicious.  I don’t think I can get that in this area, but I’m going to keep an eye out at my local farmer’s market.

        • carfree

          You’re welcome! They are gray/white on the outside, and look a bit more gnarly than other sweet potatoes. I like to think they’re partly responsible for the long life expectency of the Okinawan people!

  • carfree

    I’m a little confused about inflammation and its effects on our hearts. Is this just referring to generalized inflammation, or does localized inflammation also affect our health so negatively?  I’ve heard that poor teeth hurt us because of the inflammation; what about something like a sprained ankle? Are these two different animals, or separate arms of the same animal? Or no difference at all?

    • Gale

      Inflammation is a response to an injury. When you have a sprained ankle the inflammation is part of the healing process and is not bad for the body. It is a necessary part of healing.

      When we talk about the vascular system it is the same animal. The arteries become inflamed as they become diseased. Poor teeth health is bad because of the bacteria that are associated.

      Both autoinflammatory and autoimmune diseases share an inflammatory response. In both the body attacks itself. Neither are a good thing.

      • carfree

        Thank you, Gale.

  • traffic safety lady

    What to do if you react with asthmatic or allergy symptoms when eating purple, blue or yellow potatoes? Any other good foods to eat?  I even react to walnuts, kiwi and eggplant…the swollen airways are not fun!

  • Melanie

    There is so much great information in these studies. I am going to looking at the links to see if there is something I can offer my patients. I am not allowed to prescribe (advise) on anything people can ingest, as it isn’t in my scope of practice, but I have lots of allied health information in my waiting area.

  • Ren Mendoza, PT, DPT

    Great information Dr. Greger! I just want to clarify if other types of rhizomes with pigmentation (i.e. purple yams, etc) would bring the same effect on inflammation? Thank you!!!

  • Reid

    Michael,

    Thank you for your work
    here.

    I really wish you would
    address targets and balance relative to your advice.

    By targets I mean, what
    should we be shooting for with anti-inflammatory food choices? Should we eat no
    bananas? When we eat potatoes, should they only be purple? Is the normal
    plant-based whole-foods diet anti-inflammatory? How anti-inflammatory should it
    be? Is there a target, that if we meet it we are fine? Is there a point of
    diminishing returns relative to continuing to pay more attention to this issue?

    I would like you to say
    “If you do X, you will be doing fine according to Michael Greger
    M.D.” Or, “If your diet looks like Y, that seems like it will be
    good.”

    Also, to be safe, should we
    take a baby aspirin a day?

    In conclusion, I find this information to be relatively useless without the
    fuller context needed to understand that it in a useful way.  It would be useful to me if I could answer
    the questions in the large paragraph in this comment. 

    • Thea

       Reid:  I can’t speak for Dr. Greger, but I have some thoughts for you.

      1) We/humans may not know the answers as precisely as you would like.  We may know from studies that it is best to say “reduce inflammation”, but we may not always be to the point that we know all of the details such as exactly how much for each type of person…  Thus, it would be up to each of us to take the information in these videos/from the studies and apply the science to our own bodies the best way we can.  If we don’t know the answer, I think it would be irresponsible for Dr. Greger to make a recommendation–unless it comes with enough qualifications that a wise person would know just how to take it…

      2) Dr. Greger *does* make both general dietary recommendations and (sometimes) very specific recommendations in the videos.  For an example of a specific recommendation, check out Dr. Greger’s video series on Vitamin D.  He explains why it is hard to come up with a one-size-fits all recommendation for every person.  And then he does just that, explaining how he came up with the number.

      Dr. Greger does have a blog post on this site which has his over-all dietary guidelines that I would say fit the bill of “If your diet looks like Y, that seems like it will be good.”  However, I think that blog post is a bit out of date.  I know you can get the very latest recommendations by purchasing Dr. Greger’s Volume DVD 9.  Dr. Greger includes a printed paper with his overall dietary guidelines inside the video.  I keep hoping Dr. Greger will put that information in a link at the top of this website, right after “blog”.  But at least it is available somehow.

      Hope you find this helpful.

  • Merry

    I was wondering whether the study used conventional or organic potatoes. Seems reasonable that purple potatoes have higher antioxidants in either case. But it seems that since conventional potatoes are on the dirty dozen list, it may be that the chemical residue on them is contributing to the oxidant activity and not the white or yellow potatoes themselves. Any way to find out which type of potatoes were tested? 

  • Tom

    This information while appreciated also confuses me. Dr McDougall’s entire plan is starch based and he is a HUGE proponent of all types of potatoes.  I do love russet potatoes with black beans, corn, green onion and salsa on them.  Is this just ONE study about pro inflammatory effects of white potatoes and maybe theres HOPE to still eat russets a few times a week?  :)  I do eat orange sweets and have tried purple sweets as well. Very tasty.

    • Thea

       Tom:  I think you will be very interested in the following video.  Based on the title, it seems like the video is just about white bread, but watch it through.  I don’t want to give away the suspense, but it directly addresses your question about the health of white potatoes.

      http://nutritionfacts.org/video/is-white-bread-good-for-you/

    • Thea

       I forgot to say:  I also find these studies very sad.  I love white potatoes…  But I have changed my diet to severely limit them.  One thing I am no certain of, however, is the health effects of white sweet potatoes.  Are those different?  I hope so, because they are not as strong as the orange potatoes and often go better in certain dishes.

      I also had a thought for perspective: even if white potatoes are not the healthiest food to be eating, it seems to me that the science points to white potatoes being far, far better than animal products.  So, if you found yourself with a choice between mashed white potatoes and say yogurt – go with the potatoes!

  • lynn

    What about the peel? Toxic?  I grow small knobby very purple potatoes & have been just scrubbing & steaming & mashing them or making grated potato pancakes. Yummy & a beautiful color.  It wouldn’t be worth trying to peel them.

  • http://www.facebook.com/steven.christensen.712 Steven Christensen

    Doctor Greger, I have been an omnivore (with heavy leaning toward
    carnivore) most of my life. Due to friendships with more health
    conscious individuals (vegetarians with leanings toward vegan) I am
    gradually changing my eating habits.

    In laying out my future dietary patterns I have found your research very
    helpful overall. For this I thank you.

    At the same time I find myself questioning things. Although the overall
    health benefits of a vegetarian vs. a omnivore lifestyle are statistically
    indisputable, the cost/benefits of individual elements and mechanisms are less clear.

    “Animal protein is bad”… “well, it is actually the saturated animal fat”, “well,
    really the worst part is the systemic inflammation caused by the bacterial
    toxins unavoidable in animal products that the saturated fats help permeate
    the intestinal wall that does the killing”. But “cooking temperatures and methods greatly impact the negative consequences of eating animal
    products”. “And nuts and purple fleshed potatoes seem to do an amazing
    job of mitigating the overall negative effect of inflammatory toxins on
    our bodies”.

    What I am actually looking for is a “Unified Theory on Health”, where elements can be weighted (both individually and combined with
    enhancing/mitigating factors) and evaluated for individual choice and application.

    “Must you eat meat? Fine, looking at the unified theory you might decide to
    slow cook skinned free range antibiotic free chicken thighs. Skim off
    the fat and mix in a moderate amount of olive oil during last 20 minutes
    of cooking. Eat early in the day with purple fleshed potatoes. Have a
    dessert high in both whole grain oats an tree nuts, and engage in at
    least thirty minutes of moderately high intensity physical activity 3 to
    5 hours after your meal…”.

    “It has to be beef? Fine, you look at the theory and start with lean, organically raised beef. Cook at low temperature…”

    And “help cleanse your system the next day by going totally high fiber
    vegan. Start with a whole fruit breakfast, accompanied if you must with
    a small amount of home made low sugar low wheat breakfast cereal in
    almond milk. Vegetarian chili and beans makes a wonderfully filling
    lunch. Add a lentil soup and salad for dinner and you are ready for a
    good nights sleep”.

    You get the idea.

    At this stage of the science can this be done with any degree of
    confidence?

    Steve

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