Affordable Potatoes Pack More Potassium Than Any Other Vegetable - Study

U.S. researchers told a nutrition conference that potatoes are one of the best nutritional values in the produce department, providing significantly better nutritional value per dollar than most other raw vegetables. Per serving, white potatoes were the largest and most affordable source of potassium of any vegetable or fruit, the researchers said. For the study, which was funded by the United States Potato Board, the researchers merged nutrient composition data from the USDA Food and Nutrition Database with the USDA national food prices database. They also obtained frequency of consumption data and used the Affordable Nutrition Index to assess nutritional value per dollar for potatoes and for other vegetables. They found that potatoes were the lowest cost source of dietary potassium, in fact half that of most other vegetables.