Children can be notoriously picky when it comes to vegetables. Numerous items like beets, eggplants, Brussel sprouts, and turnips often get a snub.
However, potatoes generally receive a warm reception from both kids and adults, thanks to their versatility. From French fries to mashed potatoes and hash browns, the various ways to serve potatoes, often with additions like cheese, ketchup, or sour cream, are endless.
But, are potatoes a healthy choice? Let’s delve into the most nutritious types of potatoes.
What kind of potatoes are healthiest?
Nutritionally speaking, the most vibrant potatoes usually pack the most punch. According to dietitian Danielle Crumble Smith, deep purple and red hues signify high levels of antioxidants like anthocyanin. Consuming antioxidants can help keep free radicals in check and minimize cell damage and disease.
Crumble Smith’s top pick is the Okinawan sweet potato. Originating from South America and brought to Japan in the 1600s, they have a stunning deep purple interior. She also recommends red, purple and sweet potatoes for their colorful benefits.
While all potatoes are nutritious in their own way, you’ll get more vitamin A and fiber and fewer carbs from sweet potatoes, and more vitamin C from a Yukon gold potato, says Crumble Smith.
To ensure you’re getting a range of nutrients, she suggests incorporating different types of potatoes into your diet.
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Are potatoes nutritious?
Potatoes, despite being affordable, are a healthful addition to most diets.
Though potatoes are sometimes criticized for their relatively high calorie count and carb content, they’re mostly comprised of complex carbohydrates, which take longer to digest and thus provide longer-lasting energy. According to Crumble Smith, the caloric content doesn’t warrant excluding them from your diet, as starchy foods are essential for creating balanced meals and satisfaction. Plus, potatoes are packed with other nutrient benefits.
Potatoes – particularly their skin – are rich in fiber, which fills you up, regulates your appetite, controls blood sugar levels, promotes heart health and aids in weight management.
Moreover, potatoes are a valuable source of potassium, vital for normalizing the heart’s electrical activity and promoting proper cell fluid exchange and nerve function. However, those with chronic kidney disease should consult their doctor about their daily potassium intake, advises Crumble Smith.
She advocates for the inclusion of potatoes in our diets for satisfaction, appetite regulation, and preventing cravings for nutrient-poor foods.
When cooled after cooking, potatoes contain resistant starch, which is beneficial for gut health and doesn’t cause a spike in glucose levels.
To lower the glycemic index, Crumble Smith advises diabetes patients to prep their potatoes in advance, refrigerating them before reheating.
Still, consuming cooked potatoes is possible even with insulin resistance or diabetes, providing you pair them with protein, healthy fats, and non-starchy vegetables. Monitor your blood sugar levels 90 to 120 minutes after eating to gauge your body’s reaction, she suggests.
Are sweet potatoes good for you?
Sweet potatoes offer health benefits and have a lower glycemic index compared to regular potatoes, according to Crumble Smith. They’re rich in fiber and beta-carotene, a pigment found in orange and yellow produce that converts to vitamin A in your body. Vitamin A is key for promoting eye and skin health and supporting the immune system.
“The variety of colors provides more nutrients,” says Crumble Smith.
Healthy methods to prepare potatoes
While everyone loves French fries, deep frying is not the most nutritious way to consume potatoes. This method increases their calorie content and inflammation levels, notes Crumble Smith.
For healthier alternatives, consider roasting, baking, boiling, or adding potatoes to soups or stews. Crumble Smith’s personal favorite is thinly-sliced, oven-roasted potatoes added to salads.
“With just a little bit of healthy fat and some seasonings, the potato remains in its natural state,” explains Crumble Smith.
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Kids can be pretty fussy when eating vegetables. Many turn their noses up at turnips, Brussel sprouts, beets and eggplants.
The potato, on the other hand, is one veggie that’s practically universally loved. Both picky kids and adults can find something to love. French fries? Mashed potatoes? Hashbrowns? The flavors and frying forms are endlessly versatile and offer a great excuse to load up on cheese, sour cream or ketchup.
But are these root vegetables healthy? Here’s what we found out about the most nutrient-dense type of potato.
Which potatoes are healthiest?
As with any vegetable, the healthiest potato will generally be the most colorful one. Deep reds and purples indicate higher amounts of antioxidants like anthocyanin, registered dietitian Danielle Crumble Smith tells USA TODAY. Antioxidants help neutralize the free radicals in our bodies which, when imbalanced, can cause cell damage and disease.
Her favorite is the Okinawan sweet potato. Brought to Japan from South America in the 1600s, these vegetables look like your average potato from the outside but have a deep purple color on the inside. Other colorful options include sweet potatoes and red and purple potatoes.
But any kind of potato is a nutritious option that will bring something different to the table, Crumble Smith says. For example, you’ll get more vitamin A, fiber and fewer carbs in sweet potatoes but more vitamin C in a Yukon gold potato.
“I would encourage people, in order to get a variety of nutrients, to consume a variety of the different types of potatoes,” she says.
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Are potatoes healthy?
Potatoes are inexpensive vegetables that make a healthy addition to the average diet.
These starchy veggies sometimes get a bad rap because they’re more calorically dense than other vegetables and are a source of carbohydrates, but Crumble Smith says that’s not a reason to cut them out. Potatoes are largely made of complex carbohydrates, which take longer to digest and give more lasting energy than simple sugars.
“We should not limit foods just because of their caloric content because starchy foods play a role in feeling satisfied and being a key component of the balanced meal,” she says. “The great thing about potatoes is that there are other nutrients provided.”
Potatoes, especially the skins, are a great source of fiber, for example. Fiber keeps you fuller for longer and regulates your appetite. It also helps control blood sugar levels, supports heart health and aids in weight management.
Potatoes are also rich in potassium, an essential mineral that helps regulate the heart’s electrical activity and fluid exchange within cells, maintains normal blood pressure and facilitates proper nerve function. Individuals with chronic kidney disease should consult their doctor about potatoes so they don’t exceed the recommended potassium intake, Crumble Smith advises.
“When you think about a diet as a whole, if you’re consuming foods that are going to keep you satisfied, help regulate your appetite and prevent having those sweet cravings or wanting to snack on foods that don’t provide any nutrient benefit, things like potatoes should not be feared at all,” Crumble Smith says.
When cooked and cooled, potatoes contain resistant starch, which improves gut health because it doesn’t raise glucose.
“For people with diabetes, I would definitely recommend going the meal prep route where you make your potatoes ahead of time, keep them in the refrigerator and then reheat the next day,” Crumble Smith says. “Those are going to have a lower glycemic index.”
But you can still eat cooked potatoes if you have insulin resistance or diabetes, just make sure to pair it with a protein, healthy fat and other non-starchy veggies. Crumble Smith recommends testing your blood sugar levels after an hour and a half to two hours to see how your body responds.
Are sweet potatoes healthy?
Sweet potatoes are healthy vegetables and have a lower glycemic index than “regular” potatoes, Crumble Smith says. They’re a good source of fiber and beta-carotene, a pigment found in orange and yellow fruits and vegetables that converts into vitamin A in the body. Vitamin A is important for eye and skin health and immune system support.
“Because of the variety of color they have more nutrients,” Crumble Smith says.
Healthy ways to cook potatoes
French fries are responsible for the potato’s other bad reputation. Deep frying potatoes in oil makes the vegetable even more calorically dense and inflammatory, Crumble Smith says.
But while delicious, french fries are not the only way to consume potatoes. A healthier option would be roasting, baking, boiling or cooking in a soup or stew. Crumble Smith’s favorite way to eat potatoes is sliced thinly, roasted and added to a salad.
“If you’re just using a little bit of a healthy fat source and maybe some seasonings to flavor, then you’re not altering the potato that much,” Crumble Smith says.
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USA TODAY is exploring the questions you and others ask every day. From “How long to boil potatoes?” to “How to make overnight oats?” to “How to make coffee without a coffeemaker?” – we’re striving to find answers to the most common questions you ask every day. Head to our Just Curious section to see what else we can answer for you.