Are potatoes more like vegetables or grains? | 2001-06-01 | AHC… (2024)

FAQs

Are potatoes more like vegetables or grains? | 2001-06-01 | AHC…? ›

The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) in Washington, DC, offers this answer: Since they are good sources of vitamin C and potassium, potatoes are more like vegetables than grain products, which is why the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Guide Pyramid groups potatoes with vegetables.

USDA to Keep the Potato Classified as Vegetable, Not a Grain

The fact is, when prepared properly, the potato is a wonderfully nutritious food that is affordable, easy to transport, has a long storage life, and can be used in a wide array of recipes,” said Senator Collins.

Nutrition analysis clearly demonstrates that starchy vegetables, including potatoes, are not nutritionally interchangeable with grains.

USDA said in a statement Thursday the idea was not under discussion. “As we have previously conveyed, the Secretary reiterated to the Senator that there is no intent and no effort underway to reclassify potatoes as a grain, nor are there analyses singling out potatoes,” the agency said in a statement.

The potato (/pəˈteɪtoʊ/) is a starchy root vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are tubers of the plant Solanum tuberosum, a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Potato.

“Since the inception of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it has classified potatoes correctly as a vegetable,” the letter reads. “There is no debate about the physical characteristics of the potato and its horticultural scientific classification.

The Bottom Line. A potato is definitely a vegetable. Because it's considered a starchy vegetable, it's nutritionally different from other types of veggies — but that doesn't mean it's bad.

The Bottom Line. It is totally fine to eat potatoes every day. While how you prepare and cook potatoes and how much you eat could possibly impact your health, whole potatoes with skin are a nutritious vegetable with health benefits.

Grains to avoid are wheat (such as wheat berries, spelt, kamut, farro and bulgur), rye, barley and triticale. Oats are technically gluten-free, but they carry a higher possibility of cross-contamination during manufacturing. To be safe, choose gluten-free oats such as Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Rolled Oats.

A grain-free diet can be naturally low in carbs, but this isn't a requirement. Those who wish to include more carbs can get them from fruits, legumes, and starchy vegetables, such as potatoes, squash, and fresh corn. There are no restrictions regarding non-grain-based foods.

Are potatoes count as vegetables? ›

Yes, the humble potato is definitely a vegetable, and it most definitely can be healthy to include them in your diet.

Corn is a nutritious food with multiple identities. Botanically, it's a fruit but is consumed as both a vegetable and a grain. Check out these Healthy Corn Recipes and Healthy Corn Side Dish Recipes for more ideas and inspiration.

To complicate things a little more, many grains including popcorn are considered to be a fruit. This is because they come from the seed or flower part of the plant. In contrast, vegetables are from the leaves, stems, and other parts of a plant.

“Potatoes are classified with other vegetables based on their botanical and horticultural characteristics. Therefore, a decision to incorrectly reclassify them as a grain is technically inaccurate and not grounded in any scientific metric,” Quarles told Verywell in an email.

Although potatoes are a vegetable, in the UK we mostly eat them as the starchy food part of a meal, and they're a good source of carbohydrate in our diet. Because of this, potatoes do not count towards your five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, but they can have an important role in your diet.

In December 2023, reports emerged that US dietary guidelines might change to declassify potatoes as a vegetable, mirroring the approach taken in Britain.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum) is a flowering plant (angiosperm) and would typically be classified as: Plant Kingdom, flowering plant phylum (Magnoliophyta = Anthophyta), dicot class (now usually considered the Eudicot class), potato order (Solanales), potato family (Solanaceae).

When eaten as part of a meal, potatoes are generally used in place of other sources of starch, such as bread, pasta or rice. Because of this, they don't count towards your 5 A Day. Other vegetables that don't count towards your 5 A Day are yams, cassava and plantain. They're also usually eaten as starchy foods.

HHS & USDA Jointly Confirm: Potatoes are a Vegetable, Not a Grain.