You probably have fond memories of eating potatoes. These vegetables are popular and can be tasty comfort foods whether they are baked, mashed, roasted, or grilled.
Potatoes are the most popular vegetable in the world. Americans eat an average of 126 pounds of them each year.
There is a lot of confusion about potatoes and people have different opinions about them.
So what’s the truth? Are potatoes healthy? And should you eat more or less of them? If you read this article, you might have a different opinion about potatoes.
Why Are Potatoes Controversial?
If you search for potatoes on the internet, you will see many opinions about whether they are healthy or not.
Many nutritionists and health professionals recommend limiting potato consumption. Some food guides do not consider potatoes to be a vegetable.
So why do people argue against eating potatoes?
Here are the three main reasons:
- Potatoes are high in carbohydrates, which some people believe causes weight gain.
- Potatoes digest rapidly and have a high glycemic load, which means that they can cause your blood sugar and insulin levels to spike and then dip.
- Highly processed foods like French fries or potato chips are the most frequently eaten forms of potatoes — and we all know how unhealthy those are.
But do potatoes deserve to be viewed as dangerous? And do they also provide some benefits?
First, let’s look into the weight concerns…
Do Potatoes Pack on the Pounds?
Chan School of Public Health revealed that a higher intake of fish oil may lead to a decrease in the number of colds a person gets each year. A 2011 study conducted by Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian showed that people who take fish oil regularly may get fewer colds each year. The Chan School of Public Health investigated the dietary and lifestyle choices of 120,000 individuals of both genders over the course of 20 years in order to discern how these choices compound to cause weight gain.
The researchers found that potatoes were strongly associated with weight gain. Potatoes were linked to increased risks of heart disease and type 2 diabetes in addition to cancer.
But it’s not all bad news for spud lovers. ” potatoes are not bad for you, according to St. Louis-based registered dietitian Alex Caspero, RD. How we eat them is.”
While we eat many veggies, like spinach and broccoli, in their natural state, we eat most of our potatoes processed or fried as chips and french fries. Even though potatoes are often boiled or baked, they are often peeled which causes them to lose vitamins, minerals, and fiber that are found in the skin. Furthermore, they are often mashed with sticks of butter or cream and loaded with fatty toppings like chili and sour cream.
When people follow healthy recipes, they can lose weight while still eating five to seven servings of potatoes per week, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition in 2014.
Potatoes don’t seem to be a weight loss cure-all. It seems that their preparation, what you eat with them, and how they fit into your overall diet is what matters.
What About the Glycemic Load of Potatoes?
When you eat carbohydrates, your blood sugar (also known as blood sugar) levels rise and fall.
The rate at which various amounts of carbohydrates are transformed into glucose and released into your bloodstream is indicated by the glycemic load. This means that some potatoes can raise your blood sugar levels more than others.
On a glycemic load scale of 0 to 100, a baked white potato would be considered high at 29. Red-skinned potatoes generally have a GL of 26, which is still considered high.
Purple and blue potatoes have a lower glycemic load than white potatoes because of their high antioxidant content.
Why Some People Might Want to Watch Their Potato Consumption
Three groups of people who might want to consume less potatoes are pre-diabetics, diabetics, and people who are overweight.
In diabetes, the body is unable to produce or respond properly to insulin. If carbohydrates aren’t metabolized properly, it leads to higher blood sugar levels.
Although more research needs to be done, it is clear that there are healthier options than white potatoes for people who are obese or have diabetes, according to Dr. Joel Fuhrman.
Dr. Smith advises eating less potatoes and more beans, greens, cauliflower, mushrooms, and onions for those who are not healthy or at an optimal weight.
What Nutrients Do You Get When You Eat a Potato?
While different types of potatoes have different nutritional profiles, they all share certain health benefits, including:
- Potatoes are high in antioxidants. Some potatoes have more antioxidants than others, but all potatoes contain carotenoids, a class of plant pigments that protect against chronic disease and inflammation.
- Potatoes may help with digestion. Potatoes contain resistant starch, a particular kind of starch that isn’t broken down by the small intestine. Instead, it reaches the large intestine and feeds your body’s beneficial bacteria. When resistant starch reaches the large intestine, your body’s beneficial bacteria turn it into short-chain fatty acids such as butyrate. A 2011 study published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology found that butyrate can help protect against colon cancer and reduce inflammation in the colon.
- Potatoes may aid bone health. The minerals iron, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, and zinc in potatoes help the body build and maintain bone structure and strength. Keep in mind, however, that most of the minerals are in the potato skin and are lost if you peel them.
The russet potato is the most eaten potato in North America, but it is not the most nutritious. Even so, one medium, baked russet potato with its skin intact contains:
- Calories: 161
- Fat: 0.2 grams
- Protein: 4.3 grams
- Carbohydrates: 36.6 grams
- Fiber: 3.8 grams
- Vitamin C: 28% of RDI (recommended daily intake)
- Vitamin B6: 27% of RDI
- Potassium: 26% of RDI
- Manganese: 19% of RDI
- Magnesium: 12% of RDI
- Phosphorus: 12% of RDI
- Niacin: 12% of RDI
- Folate: 12% of RDI
Potato types
The starch content and type of potatoes can affect how they are digested and how they act when cooked.
Floury or “mealy” potatoes have a higher starch content, which makes them ideal for baking or mashing. These potatoes have a fluffy texture and are rich in amylose.
The starch content in “waxy” potatoes is lower in total amount, but higher in amylopectin. This gives the potato a firmer texture and prevents it from falling apart. This makes them better for boiling. This means that you may not feel as hungry for your next meal, and you may even lose weight. Cooked and cooled foods take longer to digest, which can cause you to feel less hungry and even lose weight.
There are several types of sweet potatoes, which vary in texture, cooking properties, moisture, and sugar levels. White, yellow, and purple-fleshed sweet potatoes are typically the dry type, while the orange-fleshed sweet potatoes are moist.
What about the “carb” question?
A tuber is an enlarged root or stem that a plant uses to store nutrients. The reason starchy carbohydrates are a good source of energy is because they are easily broken down into glucose.
Tubers have been a food source for humans for a long time.
In recent years, people have become concerned about the amount of carbohydrates they are consuming. Some people question whether they should consume potatoes due to the high carbohydrate content.
For one thing, “high-carb” often isn’t the real problem.
Most people in North America, Western Europe, and Australia consume potatoes in some way that has been changed from its original form — as French fries, tater tots, or potato chips.
In North America, the phrase “sweet potato” is often followed by “pie.” This is especially true in the Southern United States.
We typically cover potatoes with other things, like butter or sour cream- and for our poutine-loving Canadian friends, gravy and cheese curds.
So the tubers themselves are not necessarily to blame. It’s all the stuff we serve them with.
Carbs and satiety
This is due to the fact that potatoes and sweet potatoes contain a high amount of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are known to be satiating, or filling, foods.
Eating them makes you feel full and satisfied for a long time.
The expression “meat and potatoes” is used to describe a satisfying meal because this combination of food items is typically filling and satisfying.
Chris Voigt, the executive director of the Washington State Potato Commission, attempted to eat only potatoes for 2 months in 2010.
He initially only ate when he was hungry and lost 12 pounds in 3 weeks. After increasing his daily intake of potatoes to 20, he felt much more satiated.
Although he appeared to consume enough calories, Voigt continued to lose weight and ended up nine pounds lighter by the end of the experiment. Not only did his blood measures improve, (such as cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood glucose,) but so did his overall health.
Now of course, we don’t recommend the 20-potato-a-day diet. Voigt’s results show that starchy tubers are more satisfying than low-carb advocates might expect.
This is at least partially due to the type of carbohydrate found in potatoes and sweet potatoes.
Carbohydrate type: Starch or sugar?
A medium baked potato and a medium sweet potato have similar calorie counts, but the sweet potato has more fiber and fewer carbohydrates than the baked potato. When it comes to macronutrients, both potatoes are a good source of potassium, but the sweet potato has more vitamins A and C than the baked potato.
| Potatoes | Sweet potatoes | |
| 1 medium sized, baked | 1 medium sized, baked | |
| Calories | 161 | 103 |
| Protein | 4.3 g | 2.3 g |
| Fat | 0 g | 0 g |
| Carbohydrates | 37 g | 24 g |
| Fiber | 3.8 g | 3.8 g |
Looks pretty similar. But let’s examine the carbohydrate type more closely.
| Potatoes | Sweet potatoes | |
| 1 medium sized, baked | 1 medium sized, baked | |
| Starch | 29.9 g | 8.0 g |
| Sugars | 2.0 g | 7.4 g |
| Sucrose | 692 mg | 2599 mg |
| Glucose | 761 mg | 650 mg |
| Fructose | 588 mg | 570 mg |
Note: Medium potato: 173 grams. Medium sweet potato: 114 grams. The table compares the sizes of medium-sized tubers, which is the equivalent to a cupped handful. Source: Nutritiondata.self.com.
The sweet potato has a significantly higher sugar content than regular potatoes. However, if regular potatoes are stored in cold storage, their starch content will slowly transform into glucose and fructose over time.
Resistant starch
Tubers contain a type of starch called resistant starch, which our bodies cannot digest. This type of starch is broken down by the bacteria in our large intestine.
There is more resistant starch in regular potatoes than in sweet potatoes.
Potatoes also have a type of resistant starch known as retrograde starch: When you cook and then cool potatoes, the starch molecules shuffle themselves around into a different structure.
The same thing happens with oatmeal. If you cook a batch and then refrigerate it, it will have a jelly-like texture when it’s chilled.
Glycemic score
People often worry that potatoes and sweet potatoes are “high-carb” and have a high glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL).
The glycemic index (GI) is a measure of how quickly a food converts to glucose.
GL is a measure of how quickly a food is converted to glucose.
You should avoid foods with a high glycemic index or glycemic load. Many people choose sweet potatoes over regular potatoes because they are afraid that regular potatoes will cause their blood sugar levels to rise too high.
The problem with GI / GL
Although sweet potatoes have a lower glycemic index and glycemic load, white potatoes still tend to have a higher score. No, this does not mean that we should treat regular potatoes like they are dirt-covered sugar cubes. Absolutely not.
GI and GL are only a small part of the story when it comes to blood sugar and diabetes.
The glycemic index of food changes depending on the type of food (for example, floury vs. waxy potatoes).
GI changes when other foods are introduced. We usually don’t just grab a baked potato and start eating it. We typically eat both potatoes and sweet potatoes along with other food.
GI changes with food preparation. The GI of boiled food is lower than that of raw food, because starch can bind with water when it is boiled. Dry heat is better for baking because it lowers moisture and concentrates sugars. Cutting up potatoes and sweet potatoes before cooking them helps to preserve their starchiness, while cooking them whole results in more sugariness.
The chart below shows that sweet potatoes do not necessarily have a “better” GI than white potatoes. A roasted or baked sweet potato has a higher Glycaemic Index (GI) than a boiled white potato, for example.
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