2-8 IAN Healthy Potato Chips

Can potato chips be made healthier?  Some innovative work with potatoes has yielded a discovery that may make fans of some tasty foods rejoice: a starch that resists quick conversion to blood sugar. A new way to process potatoes and a new product promise to become valuable new additions for Idaho’s thriving food processing industry which is ldaho’s largest manufacturing sector. Here is Bill Loftus,  senior science writer, at the UI College of Agricultural and Life Sciences to discuss what is in front of us. “Potatoes are obviously a very healthful food and have fed whole populations of people for centuries. Potatoes can also be improved through modern food processing methods by making the starch more resistant to conversion into blood sugar.

The process, developed by  U of I  scientists Kerry Huber won  an award for early stage innovation of 2011 at the Idaho Innovation Awards program in October at Boise. For lovers of potato chips and French fries, Huber’s discovery promises potato ingredients with high amounts of resistant starch that can help lower a person’s glycemic index response, improve insulin levels, and lower fat and cholesterol levels.