Boiled potatoes are naturally rich in vitamins and minerals, particularly potassium, phosphorus, B-complex vitamins and vitamin C. They are low in calories and fat, and their high fiber content helps you feel full. Contrary to popular belief, potatoes are not inherently fattening. If you add butter or sour cream to potatoes, you increase the numbers of calories and fat grams significantly, so if you are trying to lose weight, season them with herbs or low-calorie condiments.
Nutrition Basics
Boiled in its skin, a large potato, weighing about 300 grams, has 261 calories, 5.6 grams of protein and .3 grams of fat. If you peel the potato before boiling it, you lose about a half gram of protein, but the calorie and fat contents remain similar. Peeled or unpeeled, the potato has 5.4 grams of fiber, about the same amount as a bowl of bran flakes cereal, and 2.6 grams of natural sugar.
B-Complex Vitamins and Vitamin C
A large, unpeeled boiled potato is rich in B-complex vitamins, which help your body form blood cells and make energy from the protein, carbohydrates and fat from the food you eat. A boiled potato provides more than half of the vitamin B-6 you need each day, as well as about 30 percent of your recommended daily intake for thiamin and niacin. It is also high in vitamin C, giving you one-half of your daily requirement for that nutrient. A peeled boiled potato loses half of its vitamin C content and provides 25 percent of the vitamin C you need daily.
Magnesium, Phosphorus and Potassium
Because the potato is a root vegetable, it is rich in essential minerals that help you build strong bones and benefit your nerve and muscle function. A large potato, boiled in its skin, provides 1.1 grams of potassium, one-fourth of the potassium you need daily. It also gives you about one-fifth of the magnesium and phosphorus you need each day. If you peel the potato before boiling it, the potato loses some of its mineral content, providing one-fourth of the potassium and one-sixth of the phosphorus you need daily.
Baked Potatoes
Cooking a potato in water depletes it of some of its nutrients. A baked potato is more nutrient-dense, providing 6.28 grams of protein and 6.3 grams of fiber. It has about 25 percent more magnesium as a boiled potato. It also contains 40 percent more phosphorus and potassium, as well as four times the amount of folate in a boiled potato. Pregnant women, who need an adequate amount of folate to prevent neural tube birth defects in their unborn children, benefit from eating potatoes baked, rather than boiled.
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