Posts Tagged “nutrients”
Packed with savory flavor and nutrients that many other types of produce don’t have, mushrooms are a tasty and healthy addition to all kinds of dishes and cuisines.
Dozens of varieties are available year-round because they’re grown indoors.
’Shrooms are the only source of vitamin D in the produce aisle. A single portabella mushroom has more potassium than a medium-sized banana, and fungi are a leading source of selenium, an antioxidant that strengthens the body’s immune system and can help prevent heart disease.
Packaged fungi outperformed bulk mushrooms in dollar and volume sales, according to IRI data for the four weeks ending Nov. 6, 2022, with prepackaged options representing almost 96% of pounds sold. Eight-ounce packages were, by far, the biggest sellers. Cut or prepared mushrooms made up half of pound sales, reflecting shoppers’ desire for convenience.
ACCENTUATING THE POSITIVE
Fresh mushrooms have a lot going for them, from nutritional advantages to sustainability. The Mushroom Council highlights these fungi benefits:
- Families can stretch their grocery budgets by incorporating meaty-tasting mushrooms into recipes that call for ground beef — such as burgers and meatballs.
- Substituting mushrooms for meat can enhance weight loss and boost nutrition without leaving consumers hungry after a meal.
- Mushrooms rank high in sustainability. An environmental footprint assessment found that production of a pound of mushrooms requires less than 2 gallons of water, 1
A frequently expressed concern in the ongoing public health debate is the lack of affordability of fresh vegetables, especially those that are nutrient dense. A new study, “Vegetable Cost Metrics Show That Potatoes and Beans Provide Most Nutrients Per Penny,” published in the journal PLOS ONE, shows that potatoes are one of the best nutritional values in the produce aisle, providing one of the better nutritional values per penny than most other raw vegetables and delivering one of the most affordable source of potassium of the more frequently consumed vegetables, second only to beans.
Dr. Adam Drewnowski and colleagues from the University of Washington used a combination of nutrient profiling methods and national food prices data to create an “affordability index,” which was then used to examine the nutrients per unit cost of 98 individual vegetables as well as five vegetable subgroups including dark green, orange/red, starchy, legumes (beans and peas) and “other” vegetables.
The results indicated while dark green vegetables had the highest nutrient density scores, after accounting for cost, starchy vegetables (including potatoes) and beans provided better nutritional value for the money. Potatoes, in particular, provide one of the lowest cost options for four key nutrients including potassium, fiber, vitamin C and magnesium. Among the most frequently consumed vegetables, potatoes and beans were the lowest-cost sources of potassium and fiber—nutrients of concern, as identified by the 2010 USDA Dietary Guidelines.
“The ability to identify affordable, nutrient dense vegetables is important to families focused on stretching their food dollar as well as government policy makers looking to balance nutrition and economics for food programs such as the school lunch program and WIC,” said lead researcher Adam Drewnowski, PhD. “And, when it comes to affordable nutrition, it’s hard to beat potatoes.”
The study was funded by the United States Potato Board and adds to the growing database of nutrition science that supports potatoes in a healthful diet. In addition, one medium-size (5.3 ounce) skin-on potato contains just 110 calories per serving, boasts more potassium (620g) than a banana (450g), provides almost half the daily value of vitamin C (45 percent), and contains no fat, sodium or cholesterol.
For a copy of the article, contact Meredith Myers at 303-873-2333 or meredithm@uspotatoes.com. Visit potatogoodness.com for healthy potato recipes, videos and nutrition information.
For more information on the USPB as the nation’s potato marketing organization, positioned as the “catalyst for positive change,” and the central organizing force in implementing programs that will increase demand for potatoes, please visit www.uspotatoes.com.
David Fairbourn is Manager, Industry Communications & Policy, at the United States Potato Board in Denver. The mission of the USPB is to increase demand for potatoes and potato products through an integrated promotion program, thereby providing US producers with expanding markets for their production. David can be contacted at 303-369-7783 or david.fairbourn@uspotatoes.com. For complete information about the programs, ROI results, resources and tools available to all members of the industry through the USPB, please visit www.uspotatoes.com. The United States Potato Board—Maximizing Return on Grower Investment.
Source: United States Potato Board
During recent years the sales of sweet potatoes (also known as yams) have grown by about 20 percent per year. The product is a staple in food magazines, cookbooks and on television shows.
According to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration the orange flesh sweet potato is the only major vegetable that contains four nutrients that exceed 10 percent of the recommended daily amount.
These four nutrients are vitamin A (beta carotene), vitamin C, fiber and potassium.
Researchers at the University of Ulm in Germany recently released a study stating serum concentration of the antioxidants vitamin C and beta carotene were shown to be significantly lower in patients with mild dementia than in control persons. This opens the door to the possibility of influencing Alzheimer’s dementia by a person’s diet or dietary antioxidants.
It also has been reported previoiusl that the orange fleshed sweet potato is the most nutritional fresh produce item on the planet.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest names sweet potatoes the No. 1 most nutritious food because they are loaded with carotenoids, vitamin C, potassium and fiber.
Sweet potatoes also are city as a leading food item in ending world hunger? Apparently, they are. A grassroots advocacy and campaigning organization that fights extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa, has a campaign in action now that aims to do just that.
The project demonstrates how, by providing much-needed nutrients like vitamins C, A and B6 to undernourished children, sweet potatoes are helping to avert stunting and ensuring proper growth. In addition, sweet potatoes are cheap to produce and they are easy to grow in uncertain conditions: perfect for regions prone to drought and famine.