So you’re at your local restaurant and you get the choice of a side: Rice or mashed potatoes. What do you pick?

Given the bad rap that carbohydrates have gotten in the last decade or so, you might go with the rice, though your stomach pleads, “me wants creamy potato goodness.” (That's how yours talks, too, right?)

But don’t rule potatoes out yet, say researchers at the University of Maine.

“Potatoes have a tendency to make you feel full longer,” says Danielle Meyer. “It has dietary fiber and fiber is one of those components that slows your stomach from emptying.”
“It’s also a good source ofvitamin C, potassium and nutrients,” Meyer says.

There are caveats, however. The health benefits of potatoes depends on how they're prepared, Meyer said.

French fries are of course dripping in fatty oil. The other problem is that the processing and the high cooking temperature changes the fiber and starch content.

“With French fries, you’re going to feel less full than having mashed potatoes,” says Meyer.

Meyer, a graduate student in the Food Sciences and Human Nutrition, and her colleagues are in the process of studying what is the best way to prepare potatoes, and will have their subjects eat them mashed, baked, boiled, steamed and fried. Meyer recommends leaving the skin on potato dishes because of the high concentration of nutrients and vitamins.

Meyer acknowledges that other produce may be all-around healthier than potatoes, like, say, broccoli. Potatoes also have a high glycemic index, meaning that it causes blood sugar levels to rise quickly – a big problem for diabetics.

But Meyer says the reality is that potatoes are an affordable part of the American diet, and knowing the best way to make them could maximize the benefits.

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