12-4 FB Spuds Heart Food

 The old schoolyard lyrics that kids used to endlessly offer up and then giggle, beans, beans are good for your heart... and so on has been replaced. It should be, spuds, spuds are good for your heart. This time it’s no joke.

 The often maligned potato is on a roll.  I recently had a long discussion with Dr. Maureen Storey, President and CEO of The Alliance for Potato Research and Education and she adamantly pointed out that potatoes that we grow so bountifully in Idaho have a nutritional element that is very heart healthy. “The data clearly show that potatoes are very valuable in increasing the intake of potassium and dietary fiber. Potassium as we all know is a nutrient for heart health. It counterbalances sodium in our diet and it is one of the most important nutrients right now because the research is showing that we don’t as an entire population, don’t get enough potassium. 98% of Americans do not get enough potassium. That has been clearly shown by other studies. The more we can do to encourage people to increase their potassium intake by enjoying a white potato, the more the better.