is it healthy to eat potato skins?

Question

even if you wash the potato since they are dirty and grown in the dirt?

Answer 1

Potatoes Are Nutritious
It's quite amazing what an unassuming tuber can contain. Within its red, yellow, white or brown protective exterior, a potato can provide much of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of a number of vitamins and minerals.

For example, potatoes can have 600-800 mg of potassium, about 40 percent more than a banana. Potassium is essential to the body because of its role in attaining optimal muscle performance and improving the nerves' response to stimulation. Iron, essential in helping the body convert food to energy as well as resist infection, is also found in potatoes. A Russet Norkotah can have 40 percent of the RDA of iron.

One would expect potatoes to have minerals, as they spend their life underground. But potatoes are also a great source of vitamins, even supplying vitamin C, the sunshine vitamin. Vitamin C is essential to help maintain healthy connective tissue and heal wounds. The many varieties of Washington potatoes are also good sources of B vitamins, helping the body make healthy red blood cells and amino acids.

So think of a potato as a big vitamin pill you can top with butter, cheddar, chives, sour cream, bacon, black beans, cheesy chicken...

You can add those tasty toppings to your potato because it contains no fat or cholesterol and minimal sodium. What it does have is natural fiber, all those vitamins and minerals, and great flavor. And a six-ounce potato contains three grams of highly digestible protein, almost as much as half a glass of milk, giving it the potential of being a meal in itself.

Because of the variety of potato colors, shapes, sizes and textures and their versatility as recipe ingredients, you can have potatoes for breakfast, lunch or dinner (or all three) and support the five daily fruit and vegetable servings recommended for good health and nutrition.

CARBO FACTS
One of the most popular nutritional myths today concerns the dietary evils of carbohydrates. Despite the media hype, scientific evidence indicates that when consumed in normal amounts...

Carbohydrates DO NOT cause weight gain and obesity
Carbohydrates DO NOT automatically cause blood sugar "spikes" and insulin "surges"
Carbohydrates DO NOT cause diabetes, heart disease or cancer.
Carbohydrates are the body's primary fuel source. Muscles prefer them and the brain relies on them. In fact, carbohydrates are so crucial to the body that if you severely cut them from your diet, your body will begin to breakdown muscle and other protein containing tissues—your heart and other vital organs—in order to make them.
WATCHING YOUR WEIGHT—AND HEALTH
Leading nutrition experts agree that weight gain is a result of consuming more calories than you expend, regardless of where those calories come from—carbohydrates, protein or fat. Maintaining that important calorie balance is easier with a diet that is rich in a variety of fruits and vegetables as these foods tend to be low in calorie content, yet high in essential nutrients.

THE HEALTHFUL POTATO
Misinformation and misconceptions regarding the nutritional value of the potato abound. In fact, an average (~5.3 oz) potato with the skin contains:

45% of the daily value for vitamin C
as much or more potassium (720 mg) than either bananas, spinach or broccoli
trace amounts of thiamin, riboflavin, folate, magnesium, phosphorous, iron and zinc
all for only 100 calories and no fat.
And potatoes with the skin on are an excellent source of fiber. In fact, with 3 grams of fiber per serving, a potato equals or exceeds that of many "whole" grain products—whole grain bread, whole wheat pasta and many cereals.
Despite the popular notion, the majority of nutrients are not found in the skin, but in the potato itself. Nonetheless, leaving the skin on the potatoes retains all the nutrients and makes them easier to prepare.



Nutrition Information Table
(for serving size of 148 grams)
Russet Norkotah Russet Burbank Red Yellow White
Calories 110 110 100 120 110
Calories from Fat 0 0 0 0 0
Total Fat 0 0 0 0 0
Sodium 10 mg 15 mg 0 mg 0 mg 0 mg
Potassium 680 mg 640 mg 710 mg 810 mg 700 mg
Total Carbohydrates 22 g 23 g 23 g 26 g 25 g
Dietary Fiber 3 g 2 g 2 g 2 g 2 g
Protein 4 g 4 g 3 g 3 g 3 g
Vitamin C 8 % 10 % 10 % 15 % 10 %
Riboflavin 4 % 2 % 0 % 12 % 2 %
Iron 40 % 10 % 4 % 4 % 4 %
Vitamin B6 15 % 15 % 15 % 15 % 10 %
Thiamin 6 % 10 % 8 % 6 % 6 %
Niacin 8 % 10 % unavailable unavailable unavailable
Folic Acid 4 % 4 % unavailable unavailable unavailable

Answer 2

Is Potato Skin Healthy

Answer 3

1

Answer 4

Potato skins are perfectly edible, and quite nutritious. Just follow everyone else's advice, and load them with bacon, sour cream, cheese, etc. THAT isn't too good for you.

People's aversion to potato skins ("jackets") is probably due to the fact that the skin is what touches the soil, as the potato grows. Dirt (aside from being dirty) can contain all kinds of pathogens, the most popular being salmonella (potatoes grow on a farm; so do chickens).

But by the time you're eating them, the potato skins have been thoroughly washed, then fully cooked, which eliminates any chance of foodborne illness.

Answer 5

The Paleo diet isn't a fad or another weight loss gimmick. It's the way humans were meant to eat.

The Paleo Cookbook is a comprehensive collection of recipes from across the globe.

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Whether you're looking for Paleo-friendly breakfasts, dinners, desserts, or international favorites, you'll find dishes for every taste.

The Paleo Cookbook is your guide to a new, healthier way of eating:

For both meat-eaters and vegetarians.

Enjoy over 370+ healthy Paleo recipes that are very easy and fast to cook, not to mention they are incredibly delicious.

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With The Paleo Cookbook, you'll discover just how easy, delicious, and nutritious the Paleo diet can be.

Answer 6

Potato skins are actually where the majority of nutrients are contained in the potato. Proper sanitation of the skin should be followed by a thourough washing with a vegetable brush.

Answer 7

It's the healthiest part of the potato.
When washing potato tubers you may some times encounter black material that looks like soil, but is difficult to wash off. This black material is commonly called "black scurf." Black scurf is a fungus that was looking for a place to spend the winter so grew on the outside of a potato tuber. This fungus is not harmful to people. It is completely safe to eat the tubers even if you cannot remove all the black material on the tuber skin.

Answer 8

Potato skins are the healthiest part of the potato. All the nutritional ingredients are in them. The same goes for most fruits and vegetables.

Once they are well scrubbed, where they are grown makes no difference.

Answer 9

Honestly, I think it's fine. It is supposed to be risky if they are green. But seriously with all the REAL things to worry about in your food, I don't think slightly green potato skins truly measure up. I grew up on a farm and have enjoyed home-grown and slightly green or otherwise blemished potatoes for years. Don't worry! They're fine!

Answer 10

I am terribly sorry to disappoint EVERYONE here, but White Potatoes are bad for you full-stop. Nutritionfacts.org have pulled scientific documents from tests outlining this.

and I quote from the video article "toxins found in sweet potatoes" (By the way, Sweet Potatoes are some of the healthiest foods out there) : "If you insist on continuing to eat white potatoes... peel them, as that removes about three quarters of the toxins."

Answer 11

Very healthy, in fact many fruits and veggies that are so good for you, the part that is the best is in the skins, you know an orange has the rind and then the white stuff and then the orange, well, the white stuff has more vitamins than the rest of the orange.