Yes! Potatoes Are Actually Good for You

Featuring Andy De Santis, RD, MPH, Registered Dietician

Duration: 1 minute, 43 seconds

Native to South America, potatoes are now grown globally having spread to Europe and beyond. They are widely enjoyed in multiple forms ranging from baked potatoes to potato chips, and certainly are a topic of debate in the nutrition world.

While it’s true that they tend to have a higher glycemic index score than their sweeter more orange counterparts, incorporating them as part of a balanced meal including other veggies and a protein source will go a long way to reduce their impact on blood sugar levels. It also true that potatoes, particularly with the skin, contribute meaningful amounts of two of the most under consumed nutrients globally – potassium and fibre.

Since they are widely enjoyed, economical and efficient to prepare they should not be overlooked.

Red and purple potatoes also contain a variety of unique phytochemical compounds that contribute to that colouration, but perhaps the most surprising and least known aspect about potato nutrition is their resistant starch content.

When a potato is cooked and cooled, think leftovers, the nature of its starchy components shift and form into what is known as resistant starch.

Resistant starch is found in relatively few foods, including cooked and cooled rice, pasta and beans, and has a prebiotic effect in the digestive tract which is a fancy way to say it preferentially acts as “food” for our healthy gut bacteria.

In turn, this helps not only to increase their numbers but also the production of beneficial compounds known as SCFAs which play an important role in supporting the immune system, maintaining the integrity of the digestive tract and reducing inflammation in the body. Not bad for a humble potato.

Presenter: Andy De Santis, Registered Dietitian, Toronto, ON

Local Practitioners: Registered Dietitian