Are potatoes healthier than bread?
By
Dr Agustín Hernández
| Reviewed by
Dr Agustín Hernández
The contents of this article are fact-based except otherwise stated within the article.
Author bio
Dr Agustín Hernández is a molecular biologist specialising in fungi and with a passion for food. He has worked in plant sciences and microbiology but also in health-related aspects such as cancer. He writes and reviews content on these topics.
Highlights:
- PhD with work done at the Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Bristol (UK) with work on a corn/maize fungal pathogen.
- The equivalent of a Master’s by Research by the University of the Basque Country (Spain) working in fungal lipids.
- Bachelor in Biological Sciences from the University of the Basque Country (Spain)
- Group leader at Universidade de São Paulo and Universidade Federal de São Carlos (Brazil).
In the UK he worked at IACR-Long Ashton Research Station, a scientific complex dedicated to agricultural products, under the supervision of lipid expert Dr David T. Cooke and plant nutrition expert Dr David T Clarkson.
He has held postdoctoral positions in Belgium (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) and Spain (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas) and worked for one year at the laboratory of plant physiologists Ray A. Bressan and P.M. Hasegawa in the Department of Horticultural Sciences of Purdue University (IN, USA).
He is the author of more than 30 scientific papers and contributed to many scientific meetings. Also, he has supervised master’s and PhD students in molecular biology.
In addition to wet-lab work, he has a passion for theoretical enzymology, informatics and writing. He is also an active reviewer for journals like MDPI Nutrients, MDPI Agronomy, and Frontiers in Plant Sciences.
Relevant Published Work & citations:
You can view some of Dr Agustín Hernández’s work below and links to his professional profiles.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7884-8023
Google: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=XE7kuiEAAAAJ&hl=en
Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Agustin-Hernandez-4/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/agustin-hernandez-lopez
Reviewer bio
Dr Agustín Hernández is a molecular biologist specialising in fungi and with a passion for food. He has worked in plant sciences and microbiology but also in health-related aspects such as cancer. He writes and reviews content on these topics.
Highlights:
- PhD with work done at the Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Bristol (UK) with work on a corn/maize fungal pathogen.
- The equivalent of a Master’s by Research by the University of the Basque Country (Spain) working in fungal lipids.
- Bachelor in Biological Sciences from the University of the Basque Country (Spain)
- Group leader at Universidade de São Paulo and Universidade Federal de São Carlos (Brazil).
In the UK he worked at IACR-Long Ashton Research Station, a scientific complex dedicated to agricultural products, under the supervision of lipid expert Dr David T. Cooke and plant nutrition expert Dr David T Clarkson.
He has held postdoctoral positions in Belgium (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) and Spain (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas) and worked for one year at the laboratory of plant physiologists Ray A. Bressan and P.M. Hasegawa in the Department of Horticultural Sciences of Purdue University (IN, USA).
He is the author of more than 30 scientific papers and contributed to many scientific meetings. Also, he has supervised master’s and PhD students in molecular biology.
In addition to wet-lab work, he has a passion for theoretical enzymology, informatics and writing. He is also an active reviewer for journals like MDPI Nutrients, MDPI Agronomy, and Frontiers in Plant Sciences.
Relevant Published Work & citations:
You can view some of Dr Agustín Hernández’s work below and links to his professional profiles.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7884-8023
Google: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=XE7kuiEAAAAJ&hl=en
Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Agustin-Hernandez-4/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/agustin-hernandez-lopez
In this brief guide, we will answer the question, “Are potatoes healthier than bread?” with an in-depth analysis of the nutritional composition of bread and potatoes.
Read on to know if and when potatoes are considered healthier than bread.
Are potatoes healthier than bread?
No, both potatoes and bread have similar nutritional characteristics, although they also show some differences. Both are rich sources of complex carbohydrates but keep in mind that all carbohydrates are not the same; other nutrients are also present in either food.
Different forms of bread and potatoes may have important differences in nutritional values. We will compare here the most common ones: commercial white bread and white potatoes.
What is the nutritional composition of bread and potatoes?
White Bread (1)
A 100 gram serving of white bread provides:
- Water: 35.7 grams
- Calories: 270 Kcal
- Carbohydrates: 49.2 grams
- Dietary Fiber: 2.3 grams
- Sugars: 5.3 grams
- Fats: 3.5 grams
- Proteins: 9.4 grams
- Sodium: 477 milligrams
- Potassium: 117 milligrams
Whole-wheat Bread (2)
A 100 gram serving of whole-wheat bread provides:
- Water: 38.7 grams
- Calories: 254 Kcal
- Carbohydrates: 43.1 grams
- Dietary Fiber: 6 grams
- Sugars: 4.4 grams
- Fats: 3.5 grams
- Proteins: 12.3 grams
- Sodium: 450 milligrams
- Potassium: 250 milligrams
Raw Potatoes (3)
A 100 gram serving of raw potato provides:
- Water: 81.6 grams
- Calories: 69 Kcal
- Carbohydrates: 15.7 grams
- Dietary Fiber: 2.4 grams
- Fats: 0.1 grams
- Proteins: 1.7 grams
- Sodium: 16 milligrams
- Potassium: 407 milligrams
Are the health benefits of potatoes and bread comparable?
The overall nutritional composition is very similar. Both are foods high in complex carbohydrates. They are rich energy sources and essential in a well balanced diet.
Bread provides much greater amounts of protein and a greater density of carbohydrates due to its lower water content. Whole-wheat bread is very similar, only it provides a lot more fiber, a little more protein and less sodium than white bread.
Bread, especially whole-wheat, provides greater amounts than potatoes of the vitamins thiamin, riboflavin and niacin. On the other hand, potatoes provide greater amounts than bread of vitamin B6 and vitamin C. They also are a much greater source of potassium as compared to bread (1–3).
In brief, in a normal diet, for a healthy person with no intolerances, both bread and potatoes are very similar.
What about the different types of carbohydrates in potatoes and bread?
Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for our body and brain. They are divided into three kinds: starch, fiber, and sugars.
Starch and fiber are complex carbohydrates. Starchy carbohydrates get digested, while fiber does not. Sugars are the building blocks of starch and fiber. When not making part of starch and fiber, we call them free sugars, simple carbohydrates or just sugars.
Because fiber is not digestible, foods rich in fiber can make you feel full, which restricts you from overeating.
Complex carbohydrates also can make you feel full because they need some time to be digested. They need to be broken down into simple carbohydrates to be absorbed. Free sugars are absorbed directly.
Which one is better for diabetics? Glycemic index and blood sugar
Both bread and potatoes are equally good (or bad) for diabetics because they have a similar, moderately high Glycemic Index (GI) (4).
The free sugar in your blood is called glucose. Its concentration needs to be controlled and the body uses a system based on insulin for that. In a healthy body, The concentration of glucose elevates temporarily with meals, and the type of meal ingested affects how much it elevates.
The glycemic index (GI) is an approximate measure of how much a food can elevate the concentration of free glucose in your blood after a meal. The greater the GI, the greater the elevation. Free sugars show the greatest GI.
Complex carbohydrates, like the starch in bread and potatoes, show a moderate GI because they need time to be digested and absorbed into your body.
Diabetics need to take care of eating low or moderate GI foods because their insulin system may not work correctly and free glucose elevation in their blood after a meal may become dangerously high.
Diabetes patients need to take care and control intake of either potatoes or bread.
Can potatoes substitute bread in a weight-control diet?
Substituting bread with potatoes may be a good strategy to control our food intake.
If we need to control our weight, a common strategy is to limit our food intake. However, if we eat too little our body does not get satiated and we keep feeling hungry. That feeling can be a real trouble to keep a control on the amount of food we eat in a meal.
The satiety index (SI) is an approximate measure of how a food makes us feel full. Bread is taken as the standard and given arbitrarily the value of 100 (5). Potatoes show a SI of 323. For that reason, potatoes will make us feel satiated with a lower amount than bread.
How about bread and potatoes in special diets?
Potatoes may be a good substitute for bread in the case of gluten intolerance (celiac disease) since they have no detectable gluten.
Bread, especially if supplemented with grains or bran, may be a better option if your food is low on proteins or vitamins. Also, whole-grain breads may help intestinal transit.
Other FAQs about Potatoes that you may be interested in.
How to store potatoes in the fridge?
Conclusion
In this brief guide, we have provided an answer to the question, “Are potatoes healthier than bread?” with an in-depth analysis of the nutritional composition of bread and potatoes. We have also discussed when potatoes are considered healthier than bread and vice versa.
References
1. White Bread-FoodData Central [Internet]. [cited 2023 Apr 13]. Available from: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/325871/nutrients
2. Whole-wheat bread-FoodData Central [Internet]. [cited 2023 Apr 15]. Available from: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/335240/nutrients
3. Potatoes-FoodData Central [Internet]. [cited 2023 Apr 13]. Available from: https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/170028/nutrients
4. Glycemic index for 60+ foods – Harvard Health [Internet]. [cited 2023 Apr 13]. Available from: https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/glycemic-index-and-glycemic-load-for-100-foods
