The Potato Underground — Discover the Goodness of America's Favorite Vegetable

By Linda McCashion 

I don’t know about you, but here in Colorado we find ourselves quite unwilling to say goodbye to warm summer and fall evenings.  (Last year’s difficult winter no doubt is a contributing factor in that attitude.)

In an effort to extend the season, I am inviting friends over to enjoy lite summer fare such as grilled meats and salads. At these occasions I naturally consider it my obligation to introduce new potato dishes.   This is not difficult in my case, as working at the United States Potato Board gives me continuing access to great recipes, many created by top chefs.

Sauteed Green Beans and Potatoes

My current menus are built around the Summer of Fresh Potatoes recipes and tips developed at a seminar at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley, CA.   The assignment for the visiting chefs was to look at potatoes in new ways; for example as a culinary canvass upon which to add other healthy foods and flavorings.  Two big flavor winners were Mediterranean and Latin. 

Nancy’s “Caesar” Salad

I have to say it was such a high for us so see a group of talented chefs creating new potato dishes. Later tasting them was totally amazing.  Click here, if you would like to try one or more of these healthy potato sides and salads.

By Katherine Beals, Ph.D., R.D., F.A.C.S.M.

I am Dr. Katherine Beals, R.D., and I have served as the nutrition consultant to the United States Potato Board for almost three years now.  In this capacity I direct the basic research program and monitor nutrition issues that are related, directly or indirectly to potatoes.  One of the most controversial nutritional issues involving potatoes is their relationship with diabetes.  Potatoes have been frequently (and perhaps unjustly) accused of raising blood glucose levels, exacerbating or even causing diabetes, and thus are recommended to be limited or even removed from the diets of those suffering from or at risk for diabetes.  However, a recent study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that potato consumption was not associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. 

Specifically, researchers from the University of Melbourne and the Cancer Council, Victoria investigated the association between a variety of dietary patterns and type 2 diabetes in a 4-year prospective study of 36,787 adults.   The results indicated that a dietary pattern characterized by meats and fatty foods was associated with increased diabetes risk while a dietary pattern characterized by a variety of salad and cooked vegetables, including potatoes cooked in healthful ways, was associated with a decreased risk.  Interestingly, when vegetables as a group (excluding potatoes) were examined independently the association with decreased diabetes risk disappeared.  

Tufts University Research Shows Calories More Important than Glycemic Load

Another common nutrition misconception that continues to plague potatoes is that they are fattening.  This stems from the notion that they are high in calories, high on the glycemic index and leave you feeling unsatisfied (i.e., not satiating).  In fact, a medium potato (5.3 oz), with skin, has 110 calories, no fat, no sodium, and no cholesterol.  Moreover, researchers from  the Jean Mayer U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (USDA HNRCA) at Tufts University recently published evidence suggesting that when it comes to weight loss the glycemic load of the diet doesn’t matter as long as calories are reduced and fiber intakes are sufficiently high.  In this study, 34 overweight, but otherwise healthy, men and women achieved and maintained similar weight and body fat losses after one year, whether they were on a low-glycemic-load or a high-glycemic-load diet. 

Potatoes Fill You Up, Not Out

And, far from leaving you feeling hungry and unsatisfied, potatoes have actually been shown in research studies to be one of the most satiating foods around.  In a study published in 1995 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition Australian researchers examined the satiety value of 240 calorie portions of 38 different foods representing all the basic food groups.  Subjects consumed the foods in random order and rated them based on the degree of fullness they provided. Fruits and vegetables were at the top of the satiety index (SI) list of foods. In fact, the highest SI score was produced by potatoes, which was more than three times the SI of white bread!

Potatoes definitely fit within a nutrient dense diet. They are a good source of potassium, provide almost ½  your daily requirement for vitamin C and are a good source of B vitamins (particularly vitamin B6). You can see the values right on the FDA nutrition facts label. One of the things I love most about them is their versatility (i.e., they can be prepared in so many different ways) and they provide a great accompaniment to many other foods, particularly vegetables.  In fact, my favorite potato recipe is a baked potato topped with broccoli and melted cheese. 

Check back soon to learn more about potato nutrition.  I’ll be posting information regularly.  If you have a potato-related nutrition question for me, please contact me.
 

By Larry Alsum, current chairman of the United States Potato Board

I grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin, America’s Dairyland, and have always enjoyed farm life. However, I have to confess that during high school I decided I did not want to be a dairy farmer. I grew up milking cows seven days a week, morning and night, and I knew that I did not want to do that the rest of my life. That decision motivated me to go off to college and get a business degree in accounting. When I graduated from college in 1975, I worked for a CPA firm for six years doing auditing and tax work for many small business clients and gained a lot of business background and experience. My wife Paula, a registered nurse (RN), was working at a hospital in the Critical Care Unit. Life was good.

Wisconsin potato fields in the summer.

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