Think of a few of your typical savory Filipino dishes—adobo, menudo, kaldereta, nilaga, maybe even kare-kare or sinigang. You can easily imagine all of them incorporating that ubiquitous and beloved brown-skinned vegetable. 

“I don’t think you will grow up or get to this age in the Philippines without having potatoes, because we love our potatoes,” Reji Retugal, Philippine representative of Potatoes USA, said as much. 

And yet, despite its ubiquity as a staple crop in the country (or anywhere else), there is apparently still much that is overlooked about the potato.

The Potatoes USA media event held at the Makati Shangri-la last March 6 set out exactly to address this lack of awareness while celebrating the starchy crop, especially those grown by American farmers. The two-hour event featured mini-perya games in which participants won prizes, with a presentation by nutritionist and dietician Jo Sebastian further accentuating the potato as the gift that keeps on giving. 

Last September, the Colorado-based Potatoes USA organized an event at Chef’s Table and Kitchen in Brittany Hotel, BGC, which featured an experiential cooking segment with Chef Kalel Chan. But this time, at the Makati program, participants were provided a little back-to-school experience with simple lessons on the nutritional value of the potato.

Energy source

Although potato dishes are widely popular, especially when you consider French fries and potato chips, there is a common misconception that they are “unhealthy” or something to cut out of a diet.

“When we think of potatoes, we don’t see it as the lovely vegetable that it is,” Sebastian said in her talk, titled “From my head to my potatoes.” She continued: “We often see it as ‘Oh, it’s just carbs.’ But let’s take that out of our mind.”

Carbohydrates generally get a bad rep in the diet world as a nutrient you want to do away with (think of the keto diet and its popularity in the last decade), when actually it is crucial to the brain and the body as an energy source. A potato, which provides complex carbohydrates, can help in sustaining energy, protecting muscles during workouts, and is especially beneficial for those who need to manage blood sugar levels. One medium-sized potato alone offers 26 grams of carbohydrates, translating to 9% of your daily value or the total amount the body needs of the nutrient.

“Specifically for athletes, potatoes can be very helpful as they are a complex carb,” Sebastian explained. “For longer-haul exercise, [carbs are] good for sustained energy and [they’re] also fuel for your muscles as glycogen.”

Carbs taken in by the body are stored as glycogen, which helps prevent muscles from being used as energy during prolonged intense physical activities. “It’s so hard to build it, so we want to keep it as much as we can,” Sebastian said. “Potatoes can be a great source of making sure that our muscles are protected, especially in fuelling and recovery.”

Immunity and collagen production

Potatoes also provide vitamin C, which correlates to a boosted immune system, collagen production, and iron absorption. 

“They say the production of collagen tends to go down by the age of 25,” the 26-year-old dietician said. “So we really want to make sure that we are getting not just enough protein, but also our vitamin C.” 

A medium-sized potato can provide 27 grams of vitamin C, or 30% of your daily value, which is usually only around 60 or 70 milligrams per day. Vitamin C also works as an antioxidant that helps make sure the body’s cells are protected, and helps with iron absorption which is essential for blood production and oxygen.

“We have something called free radicals, [which] attack the cells in the body. But antioxidants neutralize these free radicals so that they don’t attack our body,” Sebastian said. As for iron, vitamin C helps absorb the mineral, especially when consumed from plant-based sources.

“Potatoes provide us with iron, and even better, provide us with vitamin C so we are sure to absorb this,” she said.

Higher than a banana’s

One of the surprising facts about the potato is that it has more potassium than a banana (the fruit you’d think of right off the bat when it comes to potassium). But if a banana’s potassium content is around 422 milligrams, or roughly 9% of your daily value, the potato provides 620 milligrams of the electrolyte, or 15% of your daily value. 

“Potassium and sodium together help with fluid balance. When sodium goes in, potassium goes out,” Sebastian said. The electrolyte is especially important for those with hypertension and blood pressure or heart concerns, and plays a role in muscle contraction and nerve transmission as well. 

“When you sweat, you are not just sweating out water. You’re also sweating out your electrolytes, which are potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sodium,” the nutritionist added. Particularly for athletes or physically active people, excess perspiration, without the replenishment of electrolytes, can cause dehydration, which is characterized by fatigue and mental confusion, and, in more severe cases, can even lead to coma. 

“It’s why athletes need to regulate their intake of fluid and potassium,” Sebastian said. “And because potatoes contain a great amount of potassium, they are a perfect electrolyte source.”

Bulking and building up 

On average, a person needs 20 to 25 grams of fiber—a type of carbohydrate that the body can’t digest—per day. On the other hand, Filipinos only typically get eight to 10 grams.

“Usually we’re only thinking, ‘Don’t eat this, don’t eat that.’ But we’re never told what we should be adding into our nutrition, and one of those things is fiber,” Sebastian said.

Fiber creates bulk. It slows down digestion, which means less release of sugar into the bloodstream, providing blood sugar balance as well as sustained energy. The potato is also high in resistant starch which, like fiber, helps in blood sugar management and satiety, while additionally helping in blood lipid and glucose levels, and increasing the good bacteria in the colon. 

A single serving of the staple crop provides two grams of fiber, or 7% of your daily value, alongside three grams of protein, “which is also a great amount for what you would consider your vegetable or even a carbohydrate,” Sebastian said, adding:

“Protein is very important because it provides you amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks for your tissues, your hormones, and your muscles. We go back to collagen, which is made up of amino acids. That comes from protein.”

Because of the potato’s fiber, resistant starch, and protein components, eating it can make you feel quite full. “It’s so nutrient-packed,” the dietician said. “It’s why we feel so satisfied.”

Gut health equals mental health

Sebastian—who is also the founder of HEAL, which provides support for those with eating disorders such as binge eating—emphasized the link between gut health and brain health.

“Sometimes they say those who have IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) or acid reflux have the tendency or increased risk for anxiety and depression because gut health can be related,” she said. 

Sebastian recommended a balanced potato-based meal plan for a day: tortang patatas (potato omelet) with itlog na pula (red salted eggs) for breakfast; chicken afritada with extra potatoes for lunch; baked kamote and potato fries for snacks; and rice with grilled fish and ensaladang talong (eggplant salad) for dinner. 

She cited “Pinggang Pinoy,” or Pinoy Plate, a food guide intended to promote healthy eating for Filipinos—“one-fourth carbs, one-fourth protein, and [the other] half of your plate will be for your produce, or your fruits and veggies.” It’s easy to see where potatoes can find their place.

Still, the nutritionist underlined the need to examine context when creating a meal plan or even simply your own personalized diet.

“Context is very important,” she said. “One of the things I always talk about in my videos and content and with my clients is how nutrition is always dependent on your context.”  

And the context is not just in terms of physical or medical needs, but in terms of cultural preferences as well: “Everybody is different. And in Filipino culture, we can see how potatoes can still fit in that place,” Sebastian said. “There’s just a way to fit it locally, and I think that’s the best part.”

Read more: The American potato’s 7,000-mile adventure