Potato vs Sweet Potato

[Steve H]

Can someone help explain this for me?  I've read the book.  I've done a Whole 30, but I still have this nagging question.  I feel like there is an inconsistency with the Whole 30 stance on potatoes.

 

Whole 30 among other things is a no sugar eating plan.  It is a NOT a no carbohydrate eating plan.  It is a healthy carbs, healthy fats, and healthy protein eating plan.

 

I am quoting from the Whole 30 website.  "Do not eat white potatoes. This is somewhat arbitrary, but if we are trying to change your habits (chips and fries) and improve the hormonal impact of your food choices, it's best to leave white, red, purple, Yukon gold, and fingerling potatoes off your plate."

 

This is confusing to me.  The potato isn't really the problem, right?  It is the oil that the chips and fries are cooked in.  A friend of mine said she doesn't think a potato is a gateway food to a bag of Ruffles and I feel like I agree.

 

From everything I know a potato is a vegetable that has a lot of vitamins and minerals in it.  Add some grass fed clarified ghee and they are inexpensive and delicious.  Yes they are primarily a carbohydrate, but so is broccoli.

With a sweet potato you have a vegetable with a lower carbohydrate count, but a higher amount of sugar.  (Yes, there is also a ridiculous amount of vitamin A).  If we substitute white potatoes with sweet potatoes aren't we just getting less carbs, but more sugar?

See why my logical brain has to question this?  Is the Whole 30 stance on white potatoes really only on the psychological side to eliminate french fry cravings?  Why is the sweet potato considered superior to the white potato?  I can buy sweet potato fries and sweet potato chips just as easily any more.

Thanks in advance for your input.  This is really bugging me for some reason.  I'm probably just hangry.
 

[missmary]

"Do not eat white potatoes. This is somewhat arbitrary, but if we are trying to change your habits (chips and fries) and improve the hormonal impact of your food choices, it's best to leave white, red, purple, Yukon gold, and fingerling potatoes off your plate."

 

 

Read the quote again.

 

Potatoes aren't really the problem, no, but consider that the whole30 is written for a wide audience. If potatoes were allowed, there is a population of people who would include potatoes as the only vegetable (those same people might include corn too, if it was allowed).

 

While the whole30 doesn't want you to go low carb at all, a wide variety of vegetables is an important part of the plan. Saying no to potatoes forces people to get out of their comfort zone and try a variety of things. If you are someone who already enjoys a variety of vegetables, skipping potatoes for 30 days shouldn't be a problem. You can reintroduce them in moderation post-whole30 if you choose. 

[mangio_bene]

I completely agree with your logic, Steve but as MissMary says ... it's only for 30 days.  And for people who are substantially changing their way of eating it makes sense. Personally, I find sweet potatoes too sweet so introduce savory elements such as sage to tone them down.

[Vian]

It's not the potatoes themselves, and it's not even the oils they are cooked in, otherwise baked potatoes and boiled, mashed potatoes would be fine. It's about our habits and cravings. Americans eat an inordinate amount of potatoes. Chips, fries, baked, boiled, fried. They are the only vegetable some people eat on a daily basis. The reason they are excluded is to broaden your horizons and not rely on those old comfort foods that are so easy to over eat, and make it so easy to push other more nutritious foods off our plates.

[angekfire]

I think it is not only the potato and method that is used to cook it that is the issue, but what people usually do with them. Fries are often served with a dip or ketchup, or other non-compliant things. Baked potatoes often smothered with cheese, butter and sour cream. 

The spirit of the whole30, to me, is to enjoy nutrient dense foods. Potatoes aren't exactly packed with nutrients.

[Brewer5]

Potatoes aren't exactly packed with nutrients.

Actually, they contain a surprisingly high amount of Vitamin C and more potassium than a banana.  Trace amounts of many other vitamins and minerals, as well.  They really are not a nutritional "dud" as some people would like to think.

 

I stayed compliant with the rules and only consumed sweet potatoes post-workout during my Whole 30.  However, I have zero reason to not add them back in now -- actually, this will give me MORE variety and options in my diet, not less.  Everyone's situation is different, though, and I get that.

[angekfire]

Yes, they are one of the best sources of potassium, but sweet potatoes are also high in potassium. As for vitamin C there is no lack of other vegetables that are whole30 compliant that also happen to provide more than enough of it as well. 

While the whole30 is not necessarily specifically touted as a weight loss program, a lot of people join the program for just that reason. And for that reason, I place a greater importance on nutrient density to calorie density.

 

Sweet potato offers a far more bang for it's buck. It is less calorie dense, contains more fiber, and generally offers the same trace amounts of vitamins and minerals. In addition, it has a very high level of Vitamin A. 

Then again, I've never overly cared for white potatoes and eliminated them from my diet years before I even heard about Whole30, so perhaps I am just biased.

[GLC1968]

Sweet potato offers a far more bang for it's buck. It is less calorie dense, contains more fiber, and generally offers the same trace amounts of vitamins and minerals. In addition, it has a very high level of Vitamin A. 

 

That is not entirely true. Calorie for calorie, they are about the same. They have the same protein, fat and carbs and while the sweet potato is slightly higher in fiber (assuming you eat the skin on both), it's hardly worth noting if you are filling your plate with other veggies anyway.  I don't eat sweet potato skins, so I actually get more fiber from a white potato.

 

Sweet potatoes have higher Vit C and Vit A but white potatoes have higher Iron and Potassium, so it's really a toss up in terms of which is more 'nutrient' dense.

 

Personally, I'm not a big fan of sweet potatoes (too sweet for me) so when I'm not whole30, I eat white potatoes.  My husband doesn't like white potatoes, so I make him sweet ones.  Preference matters (except when Whole30 in which case, stick to sweet for the 30 days since 'them's the rules'). 

[ultrarunnergirl]

There are several foods the Whole30 excludes for reasons that might not seem to make sense, but this is a part of the "changing your relationship with food" tenet of the program.

 

If you are curious about more in depth analysis I recommend reading It Starts With Food if you haven't already. Fascinating and informative if you're interested in how different foods affect you. I refer back to it often.

 

I'm an athlete, insulin-sensitive (therefore, the type of person who could eat white potatoes with abandon and be just fine). But I can't tell you how glad I am that potatoes were banned on the Whole30. I discovered rutabaga and it's now my go-to for shredding and frying into hash browns, and for adding cubed to soups. Delicious, and the nutrition blows taters out of the water.

[Steve H]

Thank you for all the comments.  It does help with my understanding.  

 

I have read It Starts With Food and of the comments given here about forcing other foods onto your plate makes the most sense to me.  I can't buy the reason being because eating a white potato will lead to potato chips and french fries.  If that was the reason then sweet potatoes should be disallowed as well.  There are a TON of places serving sweet potato fries including Wendy's and Burger King.  I have consumed a bag of sweet potato chips in my past as well.  If the point of not eating a white potato is to change your relationship with these types of foods then it seems like sweet potatoes need to get added to the "no" list.  The food industry has latched onto them as one of their newest "healthy alternatives" that isn't healthy once they process them.

I think it is just as easy to fall into the trap of removing the white potato with the intention of putting more green vegetables on your plate, but then fall into adding a sweet potato instead.  I know I have eaten a steak and a sweet potato with nothing else on more than one occasion.

(Lots of rhetorical questions here)

I tend to work out a lot, but that's a subjective term.  I regularly read that athletes should consume more starchy vegetables to power through their training and sweet potatoes are the most common example given.  Yet, how much working out is a lot?  What makes an athlete?  Do I really need the sweet potato?

Last week I felt drained during my workouts.  Could that have just been because I was about 10 days into the Whole 30?  Did I not eat enough food those days?  Did I actually need something like a sweet potato?  The bottom line is that there is too small of a sample size for me to accurately determine why that happened.

I am making a conscious effort to eat more vegetables on this Whole 30 (my second go around).  I didn't eat enough on my first.  I tended to eat more protein and fat. I'll just keep striving to getting better and better.

Parting Thought - I did trick my family into eating steamed cauliflower last week.  The kids thought the "potatoes" tasted a little sweet, but they ate them.  The cauliflower was very runny though.  I'll have to figure out how to steam it better.

[Mariana]

Another thing to keep in mind is that White potatoes are in the nightshade family, whereas sweet potatoes are not. Which can be another reason to avoid them if you have any gut issues...

 

Actually sweet "potatoes" are not potatoes at all and in a different family altogether. In this country we only see different variaties of sweet potatoes (despite some being labled as yams).

 

[Steve H]

Interesting Allly. I didn't realize that.

[MeadowLily]

.

[LucieB]

In regards to the "changing your relationship with food" aspect: 

 

People around me know I eat healthy, and often ask "why don't you eat white potatoes?". The reasons were easy to convey at first, pretty much what others said above. But now here I am years after my first Whole30 and I'm still unable to eat a white potato! They've become a BAD food in my head.

 

I've examined the numbers of calories versus vitamins versus fiber versus etc. I know in my head that a potato won't cause any health problems like gluten or sugar. And yet I still can't eat them much to the frustration of my parents, and the wonderment of those asking why I don't eat them. My answer now is "well nothing's wrong, really..." and I stop before saying..it's just that I can't bring myself to eat them any more. 

 

Before Whole30 I didn't know what turnips, swedes, or parsnips were, so in that regard the no-potato rule was a win for me. And now I'd much rather eat those or sweet potatoes. I don't crave or pine over potatoes, that's not what I'm posting about. I guess I just wanted to say that for potatoes, the food relationship pendulum swung the other way for me, and now a food that when baked up proper is delicious and healthy is still avoided as an off-roading, non-compliant food. I admit that at some of my 12-hour races I pass up boiled potatoes at food stations, along with the cookies, candies, and other "junk" foods even when I know that potato is a great food option for that situation.

 

The pros outweigh the cons on this, I'm happier and healthier now. But it's certainly an odd by-product of the rule for me. Maybe after 3 years I've been in the system too long, can't function outside the lines- haha!

 

Lucie

[karaj]

LucieB, yes! I make potatoes for my family but haven't been able to eat them myself for ages. Strange considering I'll have the occasional wine or chocolate now which are both probably less nutritious for me!

[Barbara Ellen]

Potatoes are also members of the nightshade family, and some people react badly to nightshades. I discovered that I am one of them. The first week of my whole30 I went wild on noghtshades, without even realizing what they were - tomatoes and peppers in my omelet, tomatoes on my burger, tomatoes and peppers in my salad, sauteed peppers on my steak, eggplant 3 times a week.....by the end of 8 days I was in such pain I couldn't get out of bed, my GERD was at its all-time worst, and I was exhausted and ready to scrap the whole Whole30 thing. I did a bunch of research, and remembered the one-sentence mention of nightshades in the whole30 regarding potatoes. So just on the off-chance, I cut out all the nightshades. 3 days later, all my symptoms were gone. i was pain free, had energy, and my digestive symptoms were totally gone.

[Poochiepoos]

Sweet potatoes also contain medroxyprogesterone a natural hormone, in biblical time women who could not conceive were told by the priest to eat wild yams (or sweet potatoes/yams). There are also topical applications made from yams to combat menopausal symptoms on the market and they do work. Sweet potatoes have lots of good things in them, I have eaten them for years and prefer them over white potatoes.

Side note*medroxyprogesterone is the generic name for Provera/Depo Provera used for hormone replacement therapy and contraceptives.

[CaGirl]

Interesting

[Steve H]

(Jokingly)

http://whole30.com/2013/06/the-official-can-i-have-guide-to-the-whole30/

I am totally taking credit for the Whole 30 rule change. Regular potatoes are back in! But it is official. Go have a read. Thanks Elias for pointing it out.

[drtracyb]

Real Shepherd's Pie here I come!

[Brewer5]

This is a much-needed move, and I am glad to see it.  Thanks, Steve, for bringing it to our attention!  

[HolliAdrienne]

potato with s&p and ghee tonight!!!!       and obviously, some protein, and veggies, but i haven't figured that part out yet