The potato's bad rap

Charlyn Fargo, Contributor

Potatoes make you fat. Potatoes are bad. Potatoes make insulin levels increase. Do potatoes deserve the bad rap and misinformation?

Not according to a new study that found that children who regularly consume non-fried potatoes may have more nutritious diets overall. Done at the University of Washington in Seattle, the study examined data from 11,500 children, ages 5-18, who took part in the NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) from 2001 to 2008.

Researchers looked at information on more than 57,000 meals in which white potatoes could be mashed, baked, boiled or roasted but not fried. They found that lunches that contained potatoes also contained more servings of other vegetables than lunches that did not contain potatoes. And dinners that contained potatoes tended to contain similar quantities of other vegetables as dinners without potatoes. The researchers also found no differences in the prevalence of overweight or obesity between children who did and did not consume potatoes.

The fall from grace

Potatoes fell from favour in 2004 (when the Atkins diet was at its peak). At that time, 35 per cent of Americans thought potatoes were either fattening, not nutritious or not important for a balanced diet. Perceptions have improved with that number falling to 18 per cent in 2011, according to the US Potato Board.

A recent article in the UC Berkeley Wellness Letter states that there's plenty of room for potatoes in a healthy diet that's rich in vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grains. The article refutes the myths that potatoes make you fat. It also states that not all studies support the idea that high GI diets - let alone potatoes in particular - have such adverse effects. Several have found no relationship between high GI diets and body fat or diabetes. There is even research that suggests that potatoes may help with weight control because they rate high in satiety, which causes you to eat less.

A medium, plain baked potato has only 130 to 140 calories, a good source of fibre (with the skin on), potassium and vitamin C. The problem isn't the potato itself, but that it's often prepared with lots of high calorie ingredients.

So, eat potatoes in moderation (like everything else). And when preparing them, go easy on the oil, cheese and cream.

Charlyn Fargo is a registered dietitian at the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.