Potato confusion

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  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    User entered differences are probably a factor, but cooking does change the caloric availability. You're more than welcome to do your own research if you don't believe me.
    I did not say I don't believe you. I do believe you. But, I think that your original response was misleading to the OP. A raw potato, a microwaved potato, a baked potato and a boiled potato will have slightly different caloric values, but certainly nothing like the 100 calorie difference mentioned in the original question. If there was a significant difference in caloric value between the various preparation methods, then the FDA and other food/nutrition (even dieting) sources would undoubtedly be advocating for a particular method.

    many nutritionists do, in general boiled new potatoes would be the best if you are not using a microwave as these have the skins still on so less break down has occured. methods where the potatoes are peeled, cooked far longer or the structural integrity is damaged (ie. mash) will increase the glycocemic index of the food and therefore the calories, this is the key premise of a glycocemic index managed lifestyle.
    Glycemic index has nothing to do with calories. The glycemic index is a measure of how fast glucose is absorbed into the blood stream after eating a specific food in a vacuum. It doesn't offer any other information about said food, or even how said food would be absorbed when eaten with something else (butter on a potato, for example.) in short, it's pretty useless. Glycemic load is slightly more useful, but still not very relevant.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought we were talking about caloric values, not the glycemic index.

    Also, the livestrong one compares a cup of Instant Mashed potatoes to a baked potato. I find this hard to equate the two. I will read through the links though. Thanks.

    True but the 2 are intrinsically linked. low gi foods release less sugars slower, therefore less calories, hi gi release more calories quicker so although not the same they are related.
    The length of time it takes for the body to digest food is irrelevant to the calorie count. If it takes 1 hour to digest 100 calories of a food, or 4 hours to digest 100 calories from a food, it's sill 100 calories for that food item. Your logic is flawed.
  • janemem
    janemem Posts: 575 Member
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    I haven't had time to read through this entire thread so can I just ask if I'm making a soup and weigh the potatoes raw before they go in the pot are my calories out once the soup is cooked? How can I calculate the caloric value of the potatoes once they have been cooked??
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
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    If they were both burned in a bomb calorimeter, yes, the calorie value would be the same. However, with calories in a practical sense (actually being used in the body) you cannot break down the starches to get the same number of calories in a raw vs. cooked potato.

    The food science people in this thread, instead of fighting, could have taken the time to explain a few basic things a little better.

    The "food caloires" used as nutritional values are not the same as calories in the pure thermodynamic sense.
    Food calories are based on a modified calculation originally from Atwaters in the 19th century. Look him up - the article on wikipedia is very poor.

    Food calories are based on modified Atwater factors; it's a guestimate question of calories per gram of carbohydrates, protein, fat. And the calories estimates are not only not exact but can vary as a function of diet. Here, let me throw a big rock into the pond:

    http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/86/6/1649.full

    One of these days, I'll spend the time explaining why a calorie is not a calorie - except in the house of the big picture it is enough to go by that principle. Don't lose the forest for the trees.
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,229 Member
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    I haven't had time to read through this entire thread so can I just ask if I'm making a soup and weigh the potatoes raw before they go in the pot are my calories out once the soup is cooked? How can I calculate the caloric value of the potatoes once they have been cooked??

    The difference is completely negligible. The calorie is an estimated measure at any rate. When you start worrying about the difference in calories after food is cooked, then you make it much more complicated than necessary.

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