Health Benefits of Potatoes

Potatoes have gotten a lot of flak in recent years due to their carbohydrate-rich nature. Proponents of low-carbohydrate diets shun potatoes as awful and unhealthy. However, potatoes—particularly raw potatoes or the juice of a raw potato—have a never-ending list of health benefits.

In this article I am going to cover the health benefits of raw potatoes and various remedies using potatoes. In the second part of the article, I’ll explain how to detox with potato on feet, how to use potato as a remedy for fever and how to use it to draw out infection and sickness.

Potatoes – Health Benefits

There are many different of types of potatoes that come in all shapes and sizes. Potatoes are packed with nutrients such as potassium, thiamin and niacin as well as vitamin C, making them an ideal part of a healthy diet. They can also be used to treat various ailments, either taken internally or as a topical treatment.

To get a serving of potato juice—either to use in smoothies as a nutrient-rich accompanist to other fruits and veggies, or for use as a topical medicine—simply cube up two medium potatoes, then run them through your juicer. This should yield a half-cup of potato juice. You can leave the skin on but make sure to scrub it thoroughly.

You may wish to mix the potato juice with other fruit and vegetable juices or smoothies, as the taste of potato juice alone is mild and not so palatable.

Nutrients In Potato Juice

Potassium – A 1/2-cup of potato juice provides almost 27% of the daily recommended dietary intake of potassium for all adults. Read more about the importance of potassium in my article about potassium deficiency – causes, symptoms and what to do.

Vitamin C – A 1/2-cup of potato juice provides more than 50% of the dietary reference intake of vitamin C for adults.

Thiamine (vitamin B1) – A 1/2-cup of potato juice provides 20% of the recommended dietary allowance for adult men, and almost 22% for adult women.

Niacin (vitamin B3) – A 1/2-cup of potato juice provides almost 20% of the recommended dietary allowance for adult men and 22.5% for adult women.¹

Home Remedies Using Raw Potato

The list of remedies using raw potatoes or their juice is virtually infinite. Although some of these remedies are simply folk remedies passed down through the generations, others have been studied empirically and are backed by hard science. Here are a few great potato remedies you may wish to try.

Digestive health and stomach problems

Potatoes have been used for centuries by people with digestive issues ranging from heartburn to indigestion. A 2006 study performed by researchers from the University of Freiburg in Germany and published in the Phytomedicine journal found that two-thirds of patients with digestive upset reported their problems abating when they used potato juice to treat them.³

According to the Journal of Medicinal Plants Studies from 2013, potato juice has also been used to relieve gastritis (inflammation of the stomach), stomach ulcers and helps cleanse the intestines and reduce the amount of acid in the gastrointestinal system.⁸

Stomach (peptic) ulcers

Another folk remedy with roots in real science is use of potato juice for stomach ulcer treatment and prevention.

A team of scientists from the University of Manchester, led by professor Ian Roberts, found that potatoes could prevent and even cure stomach ulcers because of a never-before-known molecule in the juice of the potato that fends off the bacteria that pave the way for stomach ulcers.⁵

Cancer-killing properties

Although potatoes may not be the answer to curing all cancer types, one 2013 study published in the Food and Function journal and performed by researchers from China’s Northeast Agricultural University found that a substance in potato juice called patatin was able to halt the proliferation of cancer cells in mice with melanoma cancer.⁶

Also according to Drugs.com, an anti-proliferative effect on human colon and liver cancer cells has been demonstrated in vitro.⁴

Lipid panel improvement and antioxidant qualities

If you had bad cholesterol and high triglyceride levels, potato juice may be the answer to getting your lipid panel numbers where they need to be.

This may be in part due to the antioxidant qualities that potatoes possess. A 2012 study performed by Polish researchers from the Poznan University of Life Sciences found that potatoes are high in antioxidative activity—and that this quality increases when potatoes are processed via juicing.⁷

Arthritis

According to the Journal of Medicinal Plants Studies from 2013, one to two teaspoons of potato juice taken before each meal can help to improve arthritis symptoms.

Alternately, you can boil clean potato peelings in a pot of water for three to five minutes, then strain and cool. You can drink one cup of this up to four times per day to relieve arthritis pain and inflammation.⁸

If you suffer from arthritis make sure to combine potato juice with these natural remedies and make sure you are not suffering from this common vitamin deficiency that triggers arthritis pain.

Scurvy

Scurvy is a disease caused by a deficiency of vitamin C, whose symptoms are swollen, bleeding gums and problems with wound healing. Due to the high levels of vitamin C, potato juice can be beneficial for fending off scurvy when taken regularly.⁸

Skin care

Potatoes are a wonderful natural cleanser, especially for facial skin. Grate a raw potato and rub it over the skin, then rinse. The nutrients in the potato can absorb into the skin to nourish and moisturize your face, leaving you glowing and healthy.

Some people say that potato juice can be used on your face to whiten the skin and remove dark spots and hyperpigmentation. But I was unable to find any research to support it.

Here’s how to use a potato to whiten your skin and remove dark spots:

1. Grate a small potato, put it in a cheesecloth and squeeze out the juice.
2. Using a cotton ball, apply the potato juice on the skin areas where you have hyperpigmentation or dark spots.
3. Use once a day before going to bed to a get a more even skin tone.

Burns, sores, cuts, cracks

To treat minor skin injuries, grate a small amount of potato and mix with honey or olive oil. Apply this mixture to the affected area and fix in place with a bandage for about two hours.

To treat a sunburn, slice a potato thinly and place them on the burned area for a few minutes to moisturize skin and relieve pain.⁸

You can also try these effective homemade minor burn treatments and this DIY two ingredient gel.

Headaches

To treat a headache with potato, slice the tuber thinly and place the slices on the forehead.

To treat chronic headaches, take one-quarter cup of hot potato juice before each meal, no more than three times per day.⁸

Have a look at these essential oils to relieve headache, and these top 10 natural tips and treatments to relieve migraine.

You also need to be aware that this common nutritional deficiency can cause migraine headaches.

Awaken tired eyes

You can perk up sleepy eyes by placing a slice of potato over each eyelid and leaving them on for just a few minutes. You can also try these 7 natural ways to get rid of puffy eyes.⁸

Improving liver function

To improve the function of your liver, try a potato skin tea. Just boil the peelings from one large potato in one cup of water for five minutes. Strain and drink once cooled. Drink this daily to keep your liver and gallbladder at top performance.⁸ You can also add these foods and herbs to further help you cleanse your liver.

Relief from swelling and itching

Potato slices can be applied to swollen, tender skin to reduce swelling and can also relieve itching associated with insect bites or dermatitis. Place a slice on the affected area and leave it in place until it warms to body temperature, and replace as needed.⁸

Detox with Potatoes on Feet

Your skin is sometimes called the third kidney because if its role in body detox. I’ve already mentioned that you can draw out toxins through your skin by taking detox baths or you can even detox your armpits.

There are many books and websites that claim that you can detox your entire body through your feet. While there is no scientific evidence to support it, a lot of people say that they use foot detox pads.⁹

Instead of buying foot detox pads, why not use a potato on your feet as a simple way to detox your body.

Here’s how to use the potato foot detox:

1. Put two thin slices of raw potato in a pair of tight fitting socks and place the potato slices under your feet.
2. Leave for a few hours to draw out toxins from your body.

There are many more effective ways to detox your body naturally and I mention many of them in my e-book The Detox Guide.

Potato Slices in Socks as a Remedy for Fever

I’ve recently learned about a folk remedy for fever using potatoes. If you suffer from fever, all you need to do is put a slice of chilled raw potato at the bottom of your feet. Put it in your sock and leave for a 2-3 hours to break the fever.

While there is no scientific evidence to support it, a lot of people claim that it helps to reduce fever.

Do Potatoes on Feet Pull Out Sickness?

There is an anecdotal evidence that potatoes can pull out sickness but I couldn’t find scientific evidence to support it. The idea of putting potatoes in your socks for sickness could be attributed to foot reflexology which can be traced back to ancient Egyptian and Chinese civilizations.

According to reflexology, each area in your foot corresponds to an area in your body. Reflexology uses massage therapy techniques to stimulate nerves, mostly in the palm of your hand and bottom of your foot. Each of these nerves branches off to different organs and glands in your body.¹⁰ I have already mentioned that potatoes have a wide range of health benefits and nutrients. So possibly, according to reflexology, when placed under your feet, these nutrients spread thorough your body to kill bacteria and viruses.

Feel free to leave a comment if you use potatoes on feet for sickness as this will allow me to share the information with other readers.

Do Potatoes Draw Out Infection?

A lot of people use a potato poultice to draw Infection from wounds, boils, or skin abscesses. Depending on the infection, it may help to draw out the pus within 1-3 days. According to the Journal of Medicinal Plants Studies, potatoes have been used for healing burns, skin cracks, sores, and other types of skin infections. Raw potatoes are also used to relieve swelling and itching caused by insect bites.⁸

Here is how to make a raw potato poultice to treat infection and relieve inflammation:

1. Grate or scrape the raw potato (peel and pulp). Remember to thoroughly wash the potato skin first.
2. Put the grated potato in a gauze.
3. Place the gauze and grated potato over the infected skin area and cover with a cloth bandage to hold into place.
4. Leave the potato poultice on the inflamed skin area for 1-2 hours each session to help pull out the infection. Rinse the affected area in a salt water wash after each application.
5. Use for 24 hours to reduce inflammation and heal the infection.

Please see your doctor if the infection gets worse or doesn’t improve. Also be aware of other signs that your infection gets worse. You shouldn’t use the potato poultice on an open wound.

Related: Onions on Feet or In Sock for Flu, Colds, Detox, and Infections

Is a Sweet Potato a True Potato?

Sweet potatoes are a completely different type of vegetable from potatoes.

Traditional types of potatoes like the ones used to make fries, potato mash, and roast potatoes are from the nightshade family Solanaceae. However,  sweet potatoes aren’t actually potatoes because they are from the morning glory plant family.

Sometimes, potatoes are called ‘white potatoes’ or ‘Irish potatoes’ to distinguish them from sweet potatoes.

For more information read the ultimate guide to the different types of sweet potatoes.

Potatoes – A few precautions

Potatoes can heal, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing in this case—avoid ingesting too much of potato juice per day, as higher dosages may be toxic. It is recommended not to drink more than half a cup of potato juice daily.

Also, potatoes with a greenish color under the skin should be avoided, as these contain higher levels of a chemical called solanine, which can interfere with nerve activity and cause severe nausea, diarrhea and cramping.⁸

Learn about the many types of potatoes in the ultimate guide to different kinds of potatoes.

Related articles:

• How to Use Onions to Heal and Protect Your Entire Body
• The Health Benefits of Cabbage Juice & How To Juice It
• Why You Should Start Drinking Aloe Vera Juice

Article Resources: