Are potatoes good or bad for you?

Guitarjon
Guitarjon Posts: 204 Member
edited November 10 in Health and Weight Loss
Are they good or bad? Mainly jacket potatoes with the skin on. I know there I fiber in ther but I'm not sure if it's something I should eat a very small portion of or not.
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Replies

  • chachita7
    chachita7 Posts: 996 Member
    Who ever answers this thread better say YES... I simply love potatoes!!! :)

    I know they are a starch.. carb count is high :( - but ohhhhh sooooo gooooooood
  • Guitarjon
    Guitarjon Posts: 204 Member
    I'm kinda using them to nsure I get the calories an carbs as I tend to just eat salad or veggies with meat but sometimes need to fill up on other bits too.
  • 2012x
    2012x Posts: 149 Member
    Sweet potatoes very good

    Potatoes good

    Potatoes provide the body with an essential source of fuel and energy, which you need even when dieting

    Surprisingly rich in immune-boosting Vitamin C, a medium potato (150g) with the skin provides 27mg, almost half of the recommended daily intake

    It is thought that a few good servings of potatoes a day would have some blood-pressure lowering activity.

    The B vitamins in potatoes also protect arteries. Vitamin B6, found in potatoes, reduces levels of a molecule called homocysteine which is involved in inflammation and the furring up of arteries. High homocysteine levels are associated with a significantly increased risk of heart attack and stroke.


    etc

    Taken from
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1206765/Why-potatoes-suprising-health-benefit-key-lasting-weight-loss.html
  • mrseelmerfudd
    mrseelmerfudd Posts: 506 Member
    potatoes are fine. i usually have a baked potato for dinner or something similar. just make sure you are within all your limits at the end of the day.
  • Guitarjon
    Guitarjon Posts: 204 Member
    Good news then!

    I know a lot of people have said how sweet potatoes are good but ive tried them a couple of times in the past and really don't like them. Not many things I don't like but that is one.
  • thefuzz1290
    thefuzz1290 Posts: 777 Member
    From the potato family Sweet Potatoes are the best. However, don't just load up on potatoes to eat carbs, there are better carbs out there.
  • lunamare
    lunamare Posts: 569 Member
    I'm in the go ahead and eat it group. Just don't smother it with butter and sour cream.
  • cressievargo
    cressievargo Posts: 392 Member
    From the potato family Sweet Potatoes are the best. However, don't just load up on potatoes to eat carbs, there are better carbs out there.

    ^^ This....

    Remember - MODERATION is really the key. You want a potato? Fine - make sure you have the calories / macros to cover it. I wouldn't necessarily eat them every day..and be mindful of what you are putting ON that potato, too.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    If you are talking about white potatoes, even the experts can't agree on this one. Good luck getting a consensus on here. :wink:
  • samanthakre
    samanthakre Posts: 26
    I've always heard sweet potatoes are the best out of the potato family, and to stay away from white potatoes all together...but it doesn't seem like everyone else has heard the same!
  • jrich1
    jrich1 Posts: 2,408 Member
    I eat them all the time.. just moderation and weigh them out... bake and not fried.
  • llkilgore
    llkilgore Posts: 1,169 Member
    I don't believe they're bad for me, nutritionally, but baked white potatoes do spike my insulin and trigger rebound cravings. Or maybe it's all in my mind, but whatever... they give me the munchies. I don't have that problem with baked sweet potatoes.
  • AmyLRed
    AmyLRed Posts: 856 Member
    potatoes are also higher in potassium than bananas!

    Love potatoes. I skip the butter and sour cream these days and throw on some greek yogurt and sometimes a few bacon bits (oscar mayer has a fresher kind and only 20cals)
  • Lindacharp
    Lindacharp Posts: 36
    Myself personaly I believe potatoes got a bad rap. It's what you use on that potato if you smoother it in sour cream and bacon bits and call it a potato in your calorie count well guess what.:happy: your off by a few calories.

    Go ahead have your potato at 100 calories or so not much more than that apple or orange.

    Enjoy your potato.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    From the potato family Sweet Potatoes are the best.

    Sweet potatoes and potatoes are actually not in the same family. Potatoes come in a variety of shapes and colors, but sweet potatoes aren't one of them. Potatoes are in the same botanical family as tomatoes and eggplant. Sweet potatoes are in the same family as the morning glory flower.
  • Pollywog39
    Pollywog39 Posts: 1,730 Member
    Potatoes are very good for you............they get a bad rap because of the STUFF that we put on them!

    Bake 'em, a bit of salt, and YES, you can have some butter (just not a freakin' HALF CUP!), and if you're from the Midwest, TOP THE TATER is awesome. Two tbps only 60 calories :) nom nom................
  • bcampbell54
    bcampbell54 Posts: 932 Member
    I ate one once and my head exploded.

    Weigh it, eat it. log it, they're fine.
  • CoryIda
    CoryIda Posts: 7,870 Member
    I eat potatoes several times a week...

    I am going to go out on a limb and say they didn't hinder my weight loss or fat loss (I used to have a whopping 56% body fat, now I have around 23%).

    The thing is, try to eat an actual potato and not the greasy potato skins, french fries, etc that are processed beyond all recognition as an actual, nutrient-rich food (although it's not going to kill you to indulge in a treat every once in a while - just fit it into your goals)
  • DivaDiane
    DivaDiane Posts: 73
    Choose a medium sized potato, top with salsa, a bit of Greek yogurt (instead of sour cream), and a little shredded cheese, perhaps a couple of sliced jalapenos. Eat the skin, too. Yummy.
  • fakeplastictree
    fakeplastictree Posts: 836 Member
    I love potatoes. Sweet potatoes, baked potatoes, tater tots ... mmmmmm
  • BevsCalerieCount
    BevsCalerieCount Posts: 14 Member
    White potatoes are ok but yams or sweet potatoes are better. I would also say it depends on what you are putting on it. My method is too eat what I want or have a taste for and put it in my tracker, so if I run out of calories before the end (which I havent' yet) of the day I would eat veggies to ensure I don't go too far over my calories.
  • kbw414
    kbw414 Posts: 194
    As long as you don't have diabetes or blood sugar control problems, they are fine.
    They are more nutritious with the skin on.
    Just remember that most of those nasty Russets in the conventional grocery stores are about 2.5 servings a potato, so you're not really intended to eat the whole thing.
    I love to get smaller, organic, heirloom potatoes from my CSA and from local growers. They taste MUCH better than Russets.
  • IronmanPanda
    IronmanPanda Posts: 2,083 Member
    If they fit in your macros then they are good.
  • cbirdso
    cbirdso Posts: 465 Member
    I think it is simplistic to say any FOOD is BAD. We are all individuals when it comes to the nutrition we need. Due to many factors, not every body needs the same set of micro nutrients. For example, if someone is allergic to peanuts or gluten, then that food is bad for them, but for others, they are healthy additions to a balanced diet.

    I find that eating white potatoes makes me feel overly hungry because they spike my blood sugar, so I'd say they are bad for me, but I do eat them occasionally and overall in moderation are probably good for my overall health because of the vitamins and minerals they provide. Yams and sweet potatoes do NOT give me the same blood sugar problem, however, so I try substitute them in place of white potatoes if possible.
  • ctime
    ctime Posts: 4
    Anything natural can be "Good" for you. Potatoes aren't the worst thing on the planet that we could eat, but they do contain large amounts of starch. When potatoes are eaten, this starch is quickly broken down into Glucose and triggers an insulin response. Elevated insulin levels is known to cause fat creation in the body by the liver. The point is, like everything else, moderate the amount of calories you eat from Potatoes and you'll be fine. Are you trying to lose fat? Don't eat potatoes in my opinion. Eat a nice steak or salad or anything that isn't high GI or "processed" as a rule of thumb.
  • ishallnotwant
    ishallnotwant Posts: 1,210 Member
    I love potatoes, and eat them a few times per week usually. I haven't had any problems from it.

    Yesterday I had fried potatoes, bacon, over medium eggs, whole wheat toast and salsa for breakfast. One of the other days this week I had a biscuit and gravy, hash browns, over medium potatoes, sausage patties and salsa for brekkie. I seriously couldn't live without my potatoes. :drinker:
  • vjrose
    vjrose Posts: 809 Member
    I agree with the previous poster, nothing wrong with a good old baked potato, but it's the smothering in crap that makes it bad, you can easily add 500 calories or more to a smothered baked potato, lol. So, like everything else, we have to rethink the toppings.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I ate one once and my head exploded.

    Really? How much of a weight loss did that cause?
  • shakybabe
    shakybabe Posts: 1,578 Member
    I don't have many white potatoes though I do like them, every few weeks I allow 2 small roast ones (just par-boiled and cooked in meat juices no butter or goose fat etc) with sunday dinner and other weeks i replace it with carrot & swede mash.. haven't had baked white potato with baked beans on for ages and loved them with brown sauce on!!!

    I do make sweet potato chips in oven though and love sweet potato, can you microwave it same as white ones and eat it like a jacket potato?
  • CoryIda
    CoryIda Posts: 7,870 Member
    I ate one once and my head exploded.

    Really? How much of a weight loss did that cause?
    The average human head weighs 8 pounds. if it exploded, some of the matter would probably still be there, so I am going to guess they lost about 5.72673 pounds.
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