Electrified potatoes are more healthy for you
Scientists have discovered they can make the humble spud more healthy for you... by subjecting it to electric shocks and ultrasound treatments.The boffins from Japan say the 'potato torture' improves the nutritional content of the spud by boosting antioxidant levels.
In the tests potatoes were blasted with up to 10 minutes of high frequency sound waves and then submerged in saltwater and zapped with a electrical charge for up to 30 minutes.
It's claimed this could eventually be used to turn spuds into a superfood capable of preventing things like cancers and diabetes… otherwise they will be water-boarded too.
Kazunori Hironaka, Ph.D., who headed the research said: "We knew from research done in the past that drought, bruising, and other stresses could stimulate the accumulation of beneficial phenolic compounds in fresh produce.
"We found that there hasn't been any research on the healthful effects of using mechanical processes to stress vegetables.
"So we decided in this study to evaluate effect of ultrasound and electric treatments on polyphenols and other antioxidants in potatoes.
"We found that treating the potatoes with ultrasound or electricity for 5-30 minutes increased the amounts of antioxidants, including phenols and chlorogenic acid, by as much as 50 percent,"
LINKS
Obihiro University
"We found that there hasn't been any research on the healthful effects of using mechanical processes to stress vegetables.
"So we decided in this study to evaluate effect of ultrasound and electric treatments on polyphenols and other antioxidants in potatoes.
"We found that treating the potatoes with ultrasound or electricity for 5-30 minutes increased the amounts of antioxidants, including phenols and chlorogenic acid, by as much as 50 percent,"
LINKS
Obihiro University
