Food, Drink & Health
White Rice Or Potatoes, Which Is Better For You?
19/6/2023
No matter what your dietary choice is, and that you feel like giving a starch-rich diet a try, chances are there is going to be a potato or rice dish in your future. But is it better to eat rice or potatoes? Is there a nutritional difference between the two?
Think about it, a homely and hearty meal of stew and potatoes or a yummy stir fry on top of fluffy rice? For those of us watching our weight, the stir fry would probably be the obvious choice. But let’s take a deep dive into the differences in the beneficial nutrients they contain.
Better starch?
When it comes to starches, potatoes and rice are both important foods because they contain vital energy sources for your body. Starch is a form of carbohydrate that you need every day to support the functioning of your heart, nervous system, brain, and other key organs. And, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, both potatoes and rice can be helpful when you’re trying to lose weight. Both have practically little to no fat, contain nutritional value and are relatively similar in calories. Yet and still, there are differences. Let’s explore the benefits and crown the champion.
Nutritional Benefits Compared
When examined more closely, potatoes may win the nutrition battle. When it comes to vitamin B6, which helps support your body in the production of red blood cells and amino acids, rice provides you 30% of the recommended daily amount, while the equivalent serving of potatoes gives you half the daily amount! Potatoes also have vitamin C, unlike rice. Plus, potatoes contain three times more minerals than rice, such as phosphorus, potassium and magnesium when you leave the skin on. Sweet potatoes on the other hand are even healthier than the standard potato, containing as much as twice the high amounts of vitamin!
In conclusion
Overall, potatoes contain more vitamins and nutrients than rice. And if given the choice between rice or potatoes, 9 times out of 10, we would certainly go with potatoes simply because they are more versatile and can be made in many different ways. There isn’t much you can do with rice without switching up the spices, sauce and herbs, but you can definitely bake, sauté, fry, slice, dice, mash, and so much more with a potato!
In addition to that, you can also make them even healthier by eating them chilled, which makes for an excellent potato salad, which is yet another way potato sways the vote for us. But at the end of the day, either rice or potatoes can be part of a healthy meal!
Sources:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zf339j6/articles/zxwwsrd
https://www.reidhealth.org/blog/carbohydrates-101-the-benefits-of-carbohydrates
https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/nutrients-rice-vs-potatoes-2871.html
https://www.healthdigest.com/353073/vitamin-b6-vs-b12-whats-the-difference/
https://www.healthdigest.com/272934/if-you-need-more-vitamin-c-start-eating-these-foods/
https://www.livestrong.com/article/134806-baked-potato-vs-rice-nutrition/
https://www.healthdigest.com/376031/the-downsides-of-eating-white-rice/
