Cooked potato -Research has found that vitamin C may help reduce the severity and duration of a cold. Potatoes are a good source of vitamin C.

Raw potato must be processed prior to human consumption to make starch and other nutrients available. The nutritional value of potatoes along with its taste and ease of cooking has made it the most popular vegetable and snack in the world. Potatoes are affordable, nutritious, a good source of vitamin C (ascorbic acid), protein and rich source of carbohydrate energy. People in under developed countries, who are unable to afford high-energy diets such as meat and milk products, use potatoes as their prime source of nutrient energy.

In addition to ascorbic acid (vitamin C), the new pigmented varieties contain several phytochemicals that are antioxidants. Antioxidants are compounds that hinder the oxidative processes and thereby delays or prevent oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is associated with a wide range of chronic and acute disease processes like heart diseases, cancer, neurodegenerative, and other diseases

Traditionally potatoes (white) have been perceived as staple food similar to rice etc. – a source of sustenance energy. However, the introduction and availability of coloured potatoes have attracted consumers and researchers interests alike for reasons other than purely a source of energy.

Raw potatoes consist of large amounts of resistant starch (RS), which must be processed (boiled in water 100°C; cooked in conventional oven often at considerably higher temperature around 200°C, floured; microwaved; fried) for conversion into digestible starch (DS) for human consumption. Amount of conversion of RS greatly depends on the process employed. For example, boiled potato has less than 2% RS compared to 10% in retrograded flour. The effect of boiling and microwave baking on the amount of phenolic acids in peeled and unpeeled potatoes were studied. Greater loss was recorded in peeled potatoes irrespective of heating method. Phenolic compounds are synthetized by the potato plant as a protection response from bacteria, fungi, viruses, and insects. Several works showed that these potato compounds exhibited health-promoting effects in humans. Loss of phenolic may be minimised by reducing low power microwave baking followed by shorter cooking time.

Article courtesy of: www.researchgate.net

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263100918_Recent_advances_in_potato_production_usage_nutrition-a_Review

Other sources https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4926369/