Potato Health and Nutrition 🥔 Grow Your Own Potatoes

Potato Health and Nutrition

The Eatwell Guide is the UK Government’s healthy eating model and advises the following:
- Potatoes are in the food group ‘Potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and other starchy carbohydrates’
- Starchy foods are a good source of energy and the main source of a range of nutrients in our diets
- We should eat some starchy foods each day as part of a healthy, balanced diet
- Starchy foods should make up just over one-third of the food we eat
- Base meals on potatoes, bread, rice, pasta or other starchy carbohydrates – choose wholegrain where possible and eat potatoes with their skin on for more fibre

NHS Choices advises the following about starchy foods and carbohydrates:

- Potatoes are a healthy choice when boiled, baked, mashed or roasted with only a small amount of fat or oil and NO added salt
- When cooking or serving potatoes, try to go for lower-fat (polyunsaturated) spreads or small amounts of unsaturated oils, such as olive or sunflower oil, instead of butter.
-When boiling potatoes, some of the nutrients can be lost into the water, especially if peeled. To stop this happening, only use enough water to cover them and only cook for as long as they need.
- Potatoes are naturally fat-free
- Potatoes are naturally low in saturated fat
- Potatoes are naturally low in sugars
- Potatoes are naturally salt-free
- Potatoes are a source of potassium
- Potatoes are a source of thiamin