Paleo Food – White Potatoes – Yes Or Not?
One of the first things you are likely to eliminate from your diet when you go Paleo along with grains is white potatoes. If however, you are someone who wants to eat as healthily as possible then there isn’t anything wrong with them.
You may wonder why I say this as they don’t appear on any Paleo food list? Well, let me explain why by providing answers to some of the most common reasons why they say eating white potatoes isn’t good for you.
Reason 1 – They Are Too Starchy
Yes, they do contain high levels of carbs, but this still doesn’t mean you should stop eating them. The carbs they contain are good for you and also they don’t contain toxins like gluten or phytic acid in them.
Reason 2 – Aren’t As Nutritious As Sweet Potatoes That Appear On A Paleo Food List
The problem with this is the fact the levels of nutrients within white potatoes aren’t that far off what you would find in sweet potatoes. Both 100grams of sweet potatoes and 100grams of white potatoes provide you with between 0 and 5% of your RDA. Also, each of these types only contains 10% of the Vitamin B6 your body needs. However, white potatoes contain more Vitamin C than the sweet potato variety.
Okay, sweet potatoes contain more Vitamin A than the white variety. However, to get it you need to make sure that you are eating enough fat so that your body can convert the beta carotene found in this vegetable into Vitamin A.
However, one thing you may want to consider is that white potatoes contain less fructose compared to sweet potatoes. In fact, the balance of sugar and starch in white potatoes is much healthier.
Reason 3 – Have A High Glycemic Index
In one study carried out, they showed that white potatoes have a much higher GI than sweet potatoes. But what you may not realise also is that sweet potatoes that appear on any Paleo food list contain more fructose and sucrose than white potatoes do, and isn’t providing your body with a good source of carbs.
Reason 4 – Member Of The Nightshade Family
Like tomatoes, bell peppers, and eggplant the white potato contains chemicals known as glycoalkaloids. This can lead to a person developing symptoms associated with a condition known as leaky gut. However, it only affects people who are intolerant to these kinds of foods. The same also goes for people who suffer from autoimmune disorders, or chronic joint pain.
So just because this food affects some people doesn’t mean that everyone needs to eliminate them from their diet completely. What you need to do if you really want to avoid consuming too many of the chemicals mentioned above is to remove the skin before eating as this is where most of them are located.
Reason 5 – Are A Junk Food
My answer to this is, that they aren’t they have only be associated with being a junk food because most often we associate them with being a bag of crisps or a pile of chips with our fish or burger. When boiled, roasted or baked they can provide you with a healthy meal at a fraction of the cost of some other items you enjoy now and which appear on your Paleo food list.
Ahhh…the voice of reason! 🙂 I have been low carb for 10 years and, when I’m not trying to lose weight, white potatoes have absolutely no effect on me whatsoever, I don’t even get the typical “carb response” (achy, fatigued, mild headache, etc.) that I get from, say, grains. While I don’t eat them every day I’ve learned over the last few years especially that one or two a week doesn’t hurt me at all. Thank you Allison!
So pleased you liked the article Sherry. Although this is a Paleo site, I am not someone who strictly follows it to the letter and like you include white potatoes in my diet occasionally and don’t suffer any ill effects. It was for this reason and after doing some further research that I wrote this.
Do you have an opinion if potatoes cooked and then cooked actually become a resistant starch? Like the theory of sushi rice and plantains?
http://www.resistantstarch.com/ResistantStarch/
Hi Dathel, you only need to be concerned with potatoes after cooking is that you don’t then eat them after they have cooled down or are cold. This is because they become what is known as a retrograded starch and their structure then changes and as a result it makes them much more difficult for you to digest. But eating them whilst still hot even when mashed is perfectly acceptable.
I’ve been on a Paleo diet for almost a month now and I don’t know that white potatoes should be excluded in my paleo diet! This is really eye opening and I really thank you for this, but the problem is that almost every Paleo recipe or diet plan week include white potatoes, So I think they should change their Paleo diet plan. Thank you!
Hi Rhonda, glad you found the article useful. I’m not sure where you find your recipes including white potatoes in them. To help you, you could still use these recipes but replace with sweet potatoes instead which are Paleo approved. I still include some white potatoes in my diet occassionally.