Food in focus: potatoes

For many years, potatoes have been put in the ‘naughty carb’ basket. As the tide turns away from demonising carbohydrates, spuds are rising in popularity again.

White potatoes are extremely versatile and contribute a range of key nutrients to your diet, including potassium, niacin, vitamin C and protein. Potatoes are a “complete protein”, which means they contain all 9 amino acids (the building blocks of protein) that the body needs. In fact, just one medium potato provides around 4 g of protein.

The way you cook your potatoes will impact their nutritional value. Eat them with their skin for additional fibre.

A trick to lower the Glycaemic Index (GI) of your favourite spuds is to let them cool after cooking, as this increases the level of resistant starch. Resistant starch not only lowers the GI but also helps maintain good gut health and acts as a prebiotic. There are also lower GI potato varieties of potatoes on the market.

Visit our recipe page for some delicious and healthy potato recipes you can try at home.