teep_ posted... Fun fact: schoolkids in the UK were/are taught that a healthy diet includes "5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day" and that for the purposes of this, potatoes don't count
in more detail (quoting the NHS web site)
"Potatoes are a starchy food and a great source of energy, fibre, B vitamins and potassium.
In the UK, we get a lot of our vitamin C from potatoes. Although they typically only contain around 11 to 16mg of vitamin C per 100g of potatoes, we generally eat a lot of them.
When eaten as part of a meal, potatoes are generally used in place of other sources of starch, such as bread, pasta or rice. Because of this, they don't count towards your 5 A Day.
Other vegetables that don't count towards your 5 A Day are yams, cassava and plantain. They're also usually eaten as starchy foods.
Sweet potatoes, parsnips, swedes and turnips do count towards your 5 A Day because they're usually eaten in addition to the starchy food part of the meal.
Potatoes play an important role in your diet, even if they don't count towards your 5 A Day. It's best to eat them without any added salt or fat. "