Potato question - sweet vs white

I'm in the middle (day 4) of the Primal Potato Diet. It's going very well and I'm losing weight. (I lost 8.2 lbs in 7 days last Oct., the first time I tried this diet) I've been reading that sweet potatoes can be interchanged with white potatoes without any problems. Looking up the nutrition of the two kinds of potatoes, I noticed that the sweet potato has less carbs than the white but more sugar. I'm almost at my goal weight, about 5 more lbs to lose and I don't want to mess up the success I'm enjoying by eating a sweet potato now and again instead of a white. After all, I plan to do this for just 7 days, like last time, and I'm not so overwhelmed with boredom or hunger that I would need to eat another kind of potato.

On PB, no white potato, sweet is OK. There are other kinds I didn't know existed, purple potatoes are expecially recommended. They taste good but they're dry, so I add a good bit of liquid and butter to the mash.

Some info I found , copy and paste:

Sweet potatoes are actually a completely different vegetable than regular potatoes. They are not even in the same botanical family. While each is an important vegetable, deserving of a place in a healthy diet, these two foods feature different tastes and unique nutritional benefits. Sweet potatoes offer a host of nutrients and an impressive array of antioxidants. They taste delicious, are easy to prepare and can be used in a variety of dishes, even in some that call for white potatoes.

Sweet potatoes are not "potatoes"

While there are over 100 varieties of edible potatoes that range in size, shape, color, starch content and flavor, the sweet potato is not one of them. These two root vegetables are in fact from two completely different families. The potato's scientific name, Solanum tuberosum reflects that it belongs to the Solanaceae family whose other members include tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, and tomatillos.

The sweet potato, on the other hand, belongs to the Convolvulaceae plant family and is known by the scientific name of Ipomoea batatas. The well-known flower called "Morning Glory" belongs to the same botanical family as the sweet potato.

Never heard of the primal potato diet before. Sounds like a hack unrelated to the Primal Blueprint.

[QUOTE=Rosemary 231;1089347]I'm in the middle (day 4) of the Primal Potato Diet. It's going very well and I'm losing weight. (I lost 8.2 lbs in 7 days last Oct., the first time I tried this diet) I've been reading that sweet potatoes can be interchanged with white potatoes without any problems. Looking up the nutrition of the two kinds of potatoes, I noticed that the sweet potato has less carbs than the white but more sugar. I'm almost at my goal weight, about 5 more lbs to lose and I don't want to mess up the success I''m enjoying by eating a sweet potato now and again instead of a white. After all, I plan to do this for just 7 days, like last time, and I'm not so overwhelmed with boredom or hunger that I would need to eat another kind of potato.[/QUOTE]

Almost everyone who tried the Potato Diet with things other than plain, white potatoes did not do well. Lost your weight with white potatoes, but afterwards, add sweet potatoes as well as plantains, rice, and more white potatoes to your menu.

So, white potatoes, as plain as possible for max weight loss. Salt, pepper, vinegar, and maybe a bit of ketchup--but that's it!

The best way to find out what is primal and why, is usually to go to the blog and "[I]food you're searching[/I] primal". You can do it from the forum search bar also, but I find I get blog results more often if I start at the blog (might be my imagination).

Asking in the forums will get you answers, but unless someone quotes the blog, they won't be Mark's answers.

On the Paleo diet, Loren Cordain recommends not eating white potatoes because they are members of a family of plants (nightshades) that contain saponins. He believes these saponins can exacerbate any leaky gut problems. You might go look at Loren Cordain's blog to see if he has more information about that if you are interested.

Since sweet potatoes are not nightshades and don't have saponins, they're considered safer to eat. The Primal Blueprint gets a lot of its ideas from paleo but also from elsewhere. The Primal Blueprint is also less strict about what should be avoided. I think Mark still recommends not eating white potatoes. He loves purple sweet potatoes.

Many people around here do eat white potatoes. There's a silly crash diet that eats only white potatoes and nothing else. Then there are people like me who just eat them now and then. I think sweet potatoes are better, but now and then white potatoes hit the spot.

Rosemary 231 is doing the crazy hack diet. Crazy, but very effective for a quick drop of 5-10 pounds. Mark likes white potatoes anyway: [url=http://www.marksdailyapple.com/potatoes-healthy/#axzz2KTT7gFNi]Are Potatoes Healthy? | Mark's Daily Apple[/url]

An excerpt from Mark S:

[I][B]If you’re stalling on weight loss as you near your goa[/I]l,[I] try carb refeeds[/B][/I] with potatoes to restore leptin and jumpstart the leaning out process.

If potatoes give you fits, don’t eat them. You’re not missing much beyond a cheap source of calories that converts to glucose almost instantly. If lots of people you trust on other matters are reporting problems with potatoes, be mindful, be wary, and always pay close attention to how they affect you.

Read more: [url=http://www.marksdailyapple.com/potatoes-healthy/#ixzz2KVKeJxY8]Are Potatoes Healthy? | Mark's Daily Apple[/url]

There is a difference betw. a diet w/potatoes and a diet of potatoes.

I view them as interchangeable, but subtle differences make white potatoes preferable for weight gain (fat OR muscle) and sweet potatoes better if you limit your carbs (as they have more micro-nutrients, so you get more micro-bang for your macro-buck, if you get what I mean).

I use sweet-taters when not very hungry and white ones when starving. :p