Q: Does eating potatoes count towards my five daily portions of fruit and vegetables?

A: As much loved as it is the potato doesn’t count towards your five daily fruit and vegetable portions. This is because it has a higher carbohydrate content than vegetables and when potatoes form part of a meal they are generally used in the same way as other sources of starchy carbohydrates, such as bread, pasta or rice, so they are classified as a carbohydrate food rather than a vegetable. Yams, cassava and plantain, also don’t count as vegetables but there is an exception and that is sweet potatoes.

Sweet potatoes are classed as a vegetable because the carbohydrate they contain breaks down more slowly. They also contain high levels of beta-carotene, which converts to vitamin A in the body and helps protect against certain cancers and heart disease and has an anti-ageing effect.

 

Just because potatoes aren’t classed as a vegetable doesn’t mean they aren’t good for you but in moderation. They provide decent amounts of vitamin C, B-vitamins and iron and make a significant contribution to your overall intake of these nutrients. Jacket potatoes contain the highest amounts of vitamin C, followed closely by new potatoes.  Potatoes also contain hydroxycinnamic acids which are powerful antioxidants that help combat free radicals – substances which lower immunity and accelerate the ageing process. These antioxidants, along with vitamin C, tend to concentrate just below the skin, so this is why cooking and eating potatoes with the skin or jacket on makes sense nutritionally.  So it is better to buy organic potatoes, so the skin will not be loaded with pesticides and just scrub them lightly. 

 

Most varieties of potatoes are classed as high glycaemic index (GI) foods, which means the sugar they contains enters your blood stream fairly quickly giving you an instant energy boost followed by a low when blood sugar levels plummet, but you can lower their glycaemic value and keep your blood sugar levels and your appetite and mood stable by eating potatoes with protein e.g. eggs, tuna, baked beans (the no added sugar variety, not containing an artificial sweetener but sweetened with something like apple juice).  Jacket potatoes have the highest GI (85) followed by new potatoes (78), chips (75), mashed potatoes (74), sweet potatoes (61) and boiled old potatoes (56).  So if you have a jacket potato just have half and load it up with tuna and salad. 

 

Finally, be aware that the potatoes you eat are only as healthy as the method you use to cook them. Opt for baked or boiled potatoes and avoid deep fried potatoes or chips, which are typically high in unhealthy fats and cancer causing substances.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 1st, 2008 at 1:35 am and is filed under Ask Marilyn, Healthy Living, Nutrition and Healthy Eating. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.