Why are potatoes considered...

I'm confused...why are potatoes considered a refined carbohydrate? They're lumped together with white rice and white bread. I can see that white rice and white bread have been "tampered" with and are therefore "refined"...but a potato???  Thanks for any insight!

I don't know that they are "refined" carbohydrates so much as costly ones. If they're lumped together, I'd guess it's because they are a starch and have a high-glycemic index.

I wish they were lower on the glycemic index. I tried to eat sweet potatoes and just didn't like 'em. You'd think a "sweet" potato would be the higher of the two glycemically...DARN! LOL

Hi Brandi, I know there is a great debate about potatoes and what they are considered, haha.  I don't know that I would categorize them as refined, because they are a naturally occuring food.  Some potatoes are higher in starch than others, but this starch can be converted into sugar in the body if eaten in large quantities (from my studying of carbohydrates over the years) and affects the body's blood glucose level.  Though on the plus side, potatos offer a good source of vitamin C and B6, and potassium.  I know that as a post-op I have to limit my potato consumption because potatoes make me incredibly sleepy (blood glucose levels fluctuating too much.) But I do eat potatoes, just in very limited quanities, haha.   I hope this helps! ~Shannon

I don't eat them often myself, and in ratio to the meat I have with them, it's really only a few heaping tablespoons anyway. It just seemed odd to see them described as refined so often when they really aren't. Thanks for your response.  :)

It has to do with the complexity of this carbohydrate. If we ate potatoes in their un-cooked form, we would be getting a complex carbohydrate. But, who can do that? Potatoes are almost always cooked.  Cooking breaks down the starch molecules and turns them into a simpler version which very readily breaks into sugars.  The only part of the potato that maintains its complexity is the skin (that's why grandma said 'eat the skins to get your roughage...') Sugars, starches, fibers are all made of the same basic components.  It's the arrangement of the molecules that allows us to categorize them as one or the other.  Sugars are simple - ready to use energy.  Starches require a little more work to extract the calories.  Fibers can "hide" their calories in a dense maze of molecules - your body gives up trying to get at them, and the calories pass undigested.  Notice on the glycemic index that cooked vegetables have a higher value than raw - this is because cooking breaks the fibers and makes nutrients more available to your body. Make sense?

Makes sense, thanks!