Spuds don’t generally get a ton of love in the vegetable department, but researchers in nutrition science want you to know that you definitely shouldn’t avoid them. In fact, eating potatoes is just as important as filling up on the other, more colorful veggies, according to a new supplement published in the journal Advances in Nutrition.
Researchers gathered at Purdue University to bust the myth that white veggies—potatoes in particular—aren’t as nutritious as colored ones. While potatoes get a bad rap for being starchy, they’re also filled with vital nutrients, says supplement coauthor Connie Weaver, PhD, head of the department of nutrition science at Purdue University. One medium baked potato provides 11 percent of your recommended daily fiber intake and 12 percent of your recommended daily magnesium intake. What’s more, spuds are the highest dietary source of potassium (take that, bananas!).
It’s not that you have to replace other vegetables with potatoes, says Weaver. But since people in the U.S. generally don’t get enough fiber, potassium, and magnesium, according to the National Institutes of Health, you don’t want to nix them from your diet, either.
The bottom line: when it comes to which veggies you eat, it’s not one versus the other, says Bonnie Taub-Dix, MA, RD, CDN, author of Read It Before You Eat It and nutrition expert in New York.
“The important thing to emphasize is variety,” she says. “One fruit or vegetable doesn’t give us everything that we need—it’s the blend of colors that count, and that includes potatoes.”
For some healthy ways to incorporate potatoes into your diet, try these tasty recipes:
Spinach and Goat Cheese-Stuffed Baked Potatoes
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4 Ways to Get More Potassium
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