Although regularly demonized by low-carb gurus, potatoes are a healthy source of many important nutrients, such as potassium, vitamin C and dietary fiber. It’s these nutrients that are thought to be responsible for the blood pressure lowering effects of purple potatoes, as recently reported in Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

In this study, 18 volunteers with high blood pressure were asked to eat 6 small antioxidant-rich purple potatoes twice daily for 2 months. At the end of the 2-month follow up period, purple potato eaters lowered their blood pressure by approximately 5%. In addition to vitamins and minerals, the researchers note that purple potatoes contain natural compounds similar to ACE-inhibitor drugs.

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