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Food · Vegetables · Roots, Tubers & Bulbs
food source · 2
Potato with its skin has about 420–540 mg of potassium per 100 g, more than banana weight for weight. Its nutrients are concentrated in the skin and the thin layer just beneath it, so peeling it down to the white core throws away the most valuable part.
Mechanism · Potassium helps balance sodium
Many people eat too little potassium and too much sodium, and potassium helps balance sodium and keep blood pressure steady. A potato's nutrients are concentrated in the skin and the thin layer beneath it, so peeling it down to the white core throws away the most valuable part.
Numbers · More potassium than a banana
Potato with its skin has about 420–540 mg of potassium per 100 g, more than banana (about 358 mg) weight for weight. The fiber is mostly in the skin too, and peeling loses much of it. French fries and chips are a different story: what makes them fattening is mostly the frying, not the potato.
Potato with its skin has about 13–20 mg of vitamin C per 100 g. That is not citrus territory, but it stands out among staple foods, and because potatoes are eaten in quantity, they are a real source of vitamin C wherever people eat a lot of them.
Mechanism · Vitamin C, rare in a staple
People assume only citrus has vitamin C, but potatoes stand out among staple foods. Vitamin C dissolves in water and is damaged by heat, so long boiling loses some of it, and like potassium it is concentrated in the skin and the layer just beneath it.
Numbers · The lever is portion size
Potato with its skin has about 13–20 mg of vitamin C per 100 g, not citrus territory; what makes it count is how much of it people eat. Peeling throws away the potassium, the fiber and this vitamin C together.