White foods question
 

Question...I am trying not to eat bread or pasta, though tomorrow might be an exception due to visiting my parents. I hope I don't pay for it. My question is where do potatoes rank? I know it's starch but is it any better than other white foods? I guess carbs are the thing but I also want to know if potatoes have any redeeming value nutritionally. Are there other sources of tons of carbs that I should know about? I am primarily a calorie counter but have gotten interested in carbs recently so I don't know too much about it.

White Potatoes
 

There are lots of differing opinions about everything, as you know, but my take is this: When people talk about restricting white food it's because most white foods are heavily processed and refined, and made white, such as flour, pasta, and white sugar.

Cauliflower and white potatoes, for example, are white but not processed, so it's mostly the cooking methods (deep frying, for example) or the toppings (such as butter, salt, and cheese) that are the real problem with white potatoes.

Refined carbs are the worst carbs, and their quick absorption causes increased blood-sugar levels, insulin spikes, and cravings for more. So although white potatoes have plenty of carbs, they are natural and thus are not on my "must avoid" list.

And white potatoes do have good nutritional value. That said, sweet potatoes are better all-around than white potatoes. White potatoes have more calories than sweet potatoes, and sweet potatoes have lots of Vitamin A, as well as magnesium and Manganese (though they also do have more sugar). Neither have fat and both have some fiber and protein.

So whether or not to eat starchy and carby white potatoes probably has more to do with your metabolism, insulin response, and need to restrict calories. If you are counting calories, then you probably know that a medium plain potato has about 150 calories, which can be high if you are trying to seriously restrict your caloric intake.

It's sad when potatoes get lumped in with "evil carbs" because potatoes are a vegetable and are nutritionally dense. They contain fiber, protein, magnesium, potassium, folate, vitamin B6, Vitamin C and even some calcium. Eat them skin on and you reap the benefits ten fold.

If you eat them fried every day then sure, the calories will rack up substantially. But they are great roasted, baked, boiled in potato salads, mashed with a little olive oil and mustard, you can't beat a good potato.

White potatoes won't kill you as long as you keep the portion reasonable (I stick to 1 cup mashed or 1/2 potato) and eat the skin too, as all the vitamins and fiber are in the skin.

This may sound like a stupid question, but do red potatoes rank the same as white potatoes? (Seeing as they're white inside.)

Thanks for the responses everybody! I think I'll keep potatoes on me "ok list." Good to know they have vitamins and such too. They get a bad rap!