The potato.
One of America’s favorites. The white potato is the leading vegetable crop in the US, and production the sweet potato is steadily increasing each year.
Potatoes as a whole are one of the most versatile foods. You can bake, broil, saute, grill, and fry them.
But which potato is healthier? Sweet potatoes are usually held in the healthier limelight. But is that true? And by what margin?
First, lets discuss the fact that the white potato and the sweet potato - although both root vegetables, are not from the same plant family. White potatoes are hardier and can grow in colder climates, while sweet potatoes cannot tolerate frost. White potatoes have a white flesh and can have brown, white, or red skins. Sweet potatoes have tough brown skins, and their flesh is orange in color.
BY THE NUMBERS
The USDA generally lists these two potatoes as “medium” size when comparing. However, the Russet potato is slightly denser and weighs more than the Sweet. For the purposes of this review, we will be using My Fitness Pal, and the unit measurement to compare with is 100 grams.
RUSSET (WHITE) POTATO
Source: www.myfitnesspal.com
100 grams of a raw white potato has 79 calories, 0 fat, 16 grams of carbohydrate, 2 grams of protein, and a gram of sugar.
SWEET POTATO
Source: www.myfitnesspal.com
By comparison, 100 grams of a raw sweet potato contains 86 calories, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of protein, and 4 sugars.
NUTRIENTS REVIEW
The white potato gets an edge when it comes to potassium (417 mg vs 337 mg), but when it comes to getting your Vitamin A, the sweet potato CRUSHES the white (438% of the RDA vs. 0%). The sweet potato also has more sugar.
COOKING EQUALS MORE CALORIES
Whether you bake, broil, steam, grill, or saute them, you will see a slight increase the caloric values of these. This is because if you eat foods raw, your body has to work harder to break them down. Working harder means using fuel, or burning calories. When your food is cooked, the food is broken down more, and your body won’t have to work as hard. This is why foods have a higher caloric value when cooked vs. raw.
FRIES - A WHOLE NEW LEVEL
Do I have to go here? (LOL!) If you decide to go to your local In-N-Out, or the Habit Burger, you will need to break out the calculator to figure your caloric hit, because deep frying adds anywhere from 4-6 times more calories to your numbers.
So which is better? Depends on your dietary needs. If you need more potassium, go with the white potato. If you need to avoid potassium, and need more Vitamin A, go with the sweet. But potatoes - both white and sweet - are healthy by themselves. Its what you add to them that can make them caloric titans.
