Mashed potato vs. Couscous — In-Depth Nutrition Comparison

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How are mashed potato and couscous different?

Mashed potato has more potassium, vitamin B6, phosphorus, and polyunsaturated fat; however, couscous is richer in selenium.
Couscous covers your daily need for selenium, 49% more than mashed potato.
Mashed potato has 61 times more sodium than couscous. Mashed potato has 306mg of sodium, while couscous has 5mg.
Mashed potato has a higher glycemic index. The glycemic index of mashed potato is 87, while the glycemic index of couscous is 65.

Fast foods, potato, mashed and Couscous, cooked types were used in this article.

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Mineral Comparison

Mineral comparison score is based on the number of minerals by which one or the other food is richer. The "coverage" charts below show how much of the daily needs can be covered by 300 grams of the food.

Mashed potato

Couscous

Contains more MagnesiumMagnesium	+87.5%
Contains more CalciumCalcium	+125%
Contains more PotassiumPotassium	+393.1%
Contains more PhosphorusPhosphorus	+168.2%
Contains more ManganeseManganese	+16.7%

Contains more IronIron	+22.6%
Contains more CopperCopper	+17.1%
Contains more ZincZinc	+18.2%
Contains less SodiumSodium	-98.4%
Contains more SeleniumSelenium	+3337.5%

Vitamin Comparison

Vitamin comparison score is based on the number of vitamins by which one or the other food is richer. The "coverage" charts below show how much of the daily needs can be covered by 300 grams of the food.

Mashed potato

Couscous

Contains more Vitamin AVitamin A	+∞%
Contains more Vitamin EVitamin E	+223.1%
Contains more Vitamin B6Vitamin B6	+135.3%
Contains more Vitamin B12Vitamin B12	+∞%
Contains more Vitamin KVitamin K	+5800%
Contains more CholineCholine	+306.1%

Contains more Vitamin B1Vitamin B1	+320%
Contains more Vitamin B2Vitamin B2	+80%
Contains more FolateFolate	+66.7%

~equal in Vitamin C ~0mg

~equal in Vitamin D ~0µg

~equal in Vitamin B3 ~0.983mg

All nutrients comparison - raw data values

Nutrient			DV% diff.
Selenium	0.8µg	27.5µg	49%
Sodium	306mg	5mg	13%
Polyunsaturated fat	1.342g	0.064g	9%
Potassium	286mg	58mg	7%
Vitamin B5		0.371mg	7%
Vitamin B6	0.12mg	0.051mg	5%
Vitamin K	5.9µg	0.1µg	5%
Vitamin A	43µg	0µg	5%
Phosphorus	59mg	22mg	5%
Starch	12.1g		5%
Protein	1.65g	3.79g	4%
Vitamin B1	0.015mg	0.063mg	4%
Fats	2.82g	0.16g	4%
Carbs	14.65g	23.22g	3%
Vitamin B12	0.07µg	0µg	3%
Choline	13.4mg	3.3mg	2%
Saturated fat	0.577g	0.029g	2%
Monounsaturated fat	0.72g	0.022g	2%
Magnesium	15mg	8mg	2%
Vitamin E	0.42mg	0.13mg	2%
Folate	9µg	15µg	2%
Calories	89kcal	112kcal	1%
Vitamin B3	1.08mg	0.983mg	1%
Vitamin B2	0.015mg	0.027mg	1%
Manganese	0.098mg	0.084mg	1%
Copper	0.035mg	0.041mg	1%
Iron	0.31mg	0.38mg	1%
Calcium	18mg	8mg	1%
Net carbs	13.35g	21.82g	N/A
Sugar	0.5g	0.1g	N/A
Fiber	1.3g	1.4g	0%
Zinc	0.22mg	0.26mg	0%
Trans fat	0.105g		N/A
Tryptophan		0.049mg	0%
Threonine		0.1mg	0%
Isoleucine		0.147mg	0%
Leucine		0.259mg	0%
Lysine		0.073mg	0%
Methionine		0.059mg	0%
Phenylalanine		0.184mg	0%
Valine		0.162mg	0%
Histidine		0.077mg	0%
Fructose	0.2g		0%
Omega-3 - EPA	0.001g	0g	N/A
Omega-3 - ALA	0.174g		N/A
Omega-3 - DPA	0.001g	0g	N/A
Omega-6 - Eicosadienoic acid	0.001g		N/A
Omega-6 - Linoleic acid	1.146g		N/A