Latest Fact Sheet

Season 2, Ep 3 - Potatoes

Facts and Figures - Potatoes

· Potatoes count toward our 5+ servings of fruit and veg a day.

· Potatoes contain ‘resistant starch’ which is not digested in the small intestine. It is digested by bacteria in the large intestine where it acts as a pre-biotic promoting good gut health.

· One serving of boiled spuds can provide 35% of your daily vitamin C needs (even after losing some to the cooking water).

· Different potato varieties absorb different amounts of fat when deep fried. Agria is one of the best for frying because it absorbs least fat.

· Spuds are a member of the (deadly) nightshade family and produce toxins when exposed to light. Green potatoes are poisonous but you’d have to eat several kilos to get sick, which is unlikely as the poisons have a very bitter flavour.

· Plant and Food are part of an international consortium working to sequence the potato’s DNA.

· Potatoes are quite high GI but it varies by variety and cooking method. Boiled spuds that are cooled are not high GI.

· If you take oysters out of the equation, potatoes are our biggest dietary source of the toxic heavy metal cadmium. Our soils are high in cadmium because of fertilizing.

· Yellow or purple varieties (e.g. Maori potatoes) have higher levels of healthy pigments like carotenes and anthocyanins.

· We eat on average 152g of potato a day – older people and those in rural areas eat more. It’s the number one vegetable most people consume.

· Chips sold in New Zealand have a fat content ranging from 5% - 20% (average 11.5%). This wide range reflects the size and cut of the chips and the frying practices used.

· Potatoes are low energy density - they ‘fill you up’ without providing many calories,

· Potatoes contain a small amount (2% fresh weight) of high quality protein - although they are deficient in the essential amino acid methionine. That makes potatoes comparable to cereals such as rice.

· Potatoes are becoming more popular in developing countries where water is in short supply. It takes 3,000 litres of water to grow 1kg of rice, 500 litres to grow 1kg of wheat and only 75 litres for 1kg of potatoes.