Potato Nutrition

Folate is an essential nutrient, particularily for young women. Boiled new potatoes in their skins (175g portion) provide 33mcg (17%) of your RDA of folate.

Folate is one of the B vitamins used by your body. Folate is used to make red blood cells and important proteins like DNA. Getting enough folate is especially important during growth spurts and during pregnancy.

Getting enough folate lessens your chance of having a baby with a neural tube defect. Neural tube defects (NTDs) are a type of birth defect that involve the brain and spinal cord and can cause serious lifelong problems for a baby. We now know that getting enough folate during the childbearing years is one of the best ways to lower your chances of having a baby with a neural tube defect. Even if you are not pregnant now, and do not plan to be pregnant soon, it's never too early to start thinking about getting enough folate.

Folate is measured in micrograms (mcg). For women of childbearing age, the recommendation is 400 micrograms of folate daily. Potatoes, green leafy vegetables, some citrus fruits and certain beans are rich sources of folate. Teens who don't eat many fruits or vegetables or those who skip meals may not get enough folate. (source: www.youngwomenshealth.org)