Why don't potatoes count towards your five a day?

Because they're all eyes and no fingers!

 

As a diabetic, I have to monitor how many carbs I consume. Potatoes, regardless of how they are prepared, are a starch. It has nothing to do with them being classified as a vegetable due to growth, and everything to do with nutritional content. Yes, some preparations are better then others, but either way you are consumer carbs, not other vitamins and minerals that are found in other vegetables.

 

Well, again, that's not the reason the NHS website gives. It seriously needs to be better worded, if that's the case.

edit: I am not sure that is the reason either - potatoes actually contain more vitamin c, less carbs, and less of that carb content is sugar .http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=po...eid=chrome-mobile&espvd=1&ie=UTF-8&gws_rd=ssl. I am.not saying it is a clean sweep for standard potatoes, but they are clearly not *just* carbs.

 

Heres a good comparison -http://www.precisionnutrition.com/regular-vs-sweet-potatoes

Sweet potatoes have the edge in vitamins. Carb content is a little more complicated too.

Either way it really is best that we dont treat chips as vegetables, and if your intelligent enough to debate it, your intelligent enough not to need government health promotion guidance.

 

I'm not arguing for or against the NHS website. Just stating what I've learned from experience, my Doctors, and my Dietician.

The amount of carb content that is sugar is less relevant then overall carbs - all carbohydrates except fiber and sugar alcohol cause in increase in blood glucose levels. The type has more of an impact on how fast that kicks in. For my purposes, there are many other foods that better provide vitamins with less carb content then either the potato or sweet potato, regardless of how much I may have once enjoyed eating them. I will eat them on occasion, but I greatly how much of them I eat (and make appropriate insulin adjustments).