OT: Your thoughts on potatoes and nutrition

[RFC]

I'm 63 and 5'8". Over the last few years, I've dropped my weight from 185 to 150 -- college freshman weight by way of better nutrition and intense exercise. With a combination of riding and weights, I workout 8-10 hours a week. I literally have no more stomach fat.

Big law firms are not a healthy eating environment. Now that I have my own shop, my eating habits are much better. For the most part, I have eliminated sugar and processed foods. I still eat meat, but not as much, and significantly more vegetables and whole grains.

During this period, I avoided potatoes. But lately have been working both white and sweet potatoes back into my diet. For example, tonight I prepared what is for me a big meal -- pork loin, baked potato and pigeon peas. My system seems to like this.

The nutritional info on potatoes is pretty good. What do you think?

[peanutgallery]

Before you ate it, did that pig live a happy life? What about his friends? :)

[RFC]

LOL! Yes, I'm sure he lived a very happy life.

[pbarry]

Conventional potatoes tend to get a healthy dose of pesticides during their life cycle. Consider organic varieties if that matters to you. My GF has been eating sweet potatoes instead of regular since the spring and claims to feel better. I like both, but prefer regular and I process the starch just fine. Good fuel, imo, and most of their rep for causing weight gain has to do with what's put on them, not the potatoes themselves.

[Shoeman]

If your potassium levels are high, potatoes are not the best for you.

[RC.]

I do not **** with potatoes or try not to. They're high on the glycemic index and do not thing but **** with your blood sugar and insulin levels. I try to stay away from most white foods.

[joosttx]

Conventional potatoes tend to get a healthy dose of pesticides during their life cycle. Consider organic varieties if that matters to you. My GF has been eating sweet potatoes instead of regular since the spring and claims to feel better. I like both, but prefer regular and I process the starch just fine. Good fuel, imo, and most of their rep for causing weight gain has to do with what's put on them, not the potatoes themselves.

The ones in Idaho get dosed with sulphuric acid before harvest.

[ultraman6970]

Ask "The Martian" guy, he eat a lot of potatos.

[TonyG]

I'm 63 and 5'8". Over the last few years, I've dropped my weight from 185 to 150 --

So that's where my extra 30 came from :eek: I was 150 most of my life and eventually got to 184 and I'm on my way back down.

I think sweet potatoes are pretty healthy food. Other potatoes it kind of depends. I cook a lot of various foods and except for roasted fingerlings there can be a lot of fat in the cooking and "making them taste good" and I think that can be a slippery slope. Kind of like pasta... just depends on the fats you add.

In short I don't believe that there is anything wrong with potatoes if you can keep from adding the fats to them.

For example I like to make "potato pave" out of the French Laundry cookbook. First you slice the potatoes then soak in heavy cream.... goes downhill from there.:help:

[RFC]

So that's where my extra 30 came from :eek: I was 150 most of my life and eventually got to 184 and I'm on my way back down.

I think sweet potatoes are pretty healthy food. Other potatoes it kind of depends. I cook a lot of various foods and except for roasted fingerlings there can be a lot of fat in the cooking and "making them taste good" and I think that can be a slippery slope. Kind of like pasta... just depends on the fats you add.

In short I don't believe that there is anything wrong with potatoes if you can keep from adding the fats to them.

For example I like to make "potato pave" out of the French Laundry cookbook. First you slice the potatoes then soak in heavy cream.... goes downhill from there.:help:

Try baked sweet potato "fries" with skins. All you are adding is a little olive oil and spices.

[TonyG]

Try baked sweet potato "fries" with skins. All you are adding is a little olive oil and spices.

Yes my GF turned me onto those a few years back and they are good!

[gasman]

If your potassium levels are high, potatoes are not the best for you.

Non-issue if you have normal kidney function. Your body is very good at balancing your potassium level and kidneys get rid of excess potassium easily.

I like pototos- we grow them in our garden and just roast them. No added fat except a little oil to keep them from sticking to the pan. Basically they are the fries mentioned above.

[paredown]

FWIW, I'm not a complete organic food convert, but potatoes are the one vegetable that I make an effort to buy organic.

I read a long article on commercial potato production and decided I would not be eating those.

Sweet potatoes--those are a very good addition to your diet--and we are fans of the simple baked sweet potato "fries" done with olive oil.

For us one or the other is usually a once a week thing--fish and chip Friday nights (it's a cultural thing) where the "chips" are home-made baked potato or sweet potato "fries" and the fish is usually a Costco wild salmon patty.

[biker72]

A few years ago I developed a marginally high blood glucose level. I started looking for foods that would have a lower glycemic value. My internist told me that I would be better off eating a cup of sugar than eating a baked potato.

He's right. I was eating one baked potato a week. No more.

[rockdude]

A few years ago I developed a marginally high blood glucose level. I started looking for foods that would have a lower glycemic value. My internist told me that I would be better off eating a cup of sugar than eating a baked potato.

He's right. I was eating one baked potato a week. No more.


1+

A Potato is just like eating pure sugar.

[teleguy57]

my favorite potato is oldpotatoe :beer:

[oldpotatoe]

my favorite potato is oldpotatoe :beer:

HA!! Richard Schwinn lost 60 pounds by dropping anything 'white' from his diet..like potatoes, suger, rice, bread...and gin(:))...

Grazie tho....

[Mikej]

Can’t be any worse than the air we breathe.

[Clean39T]

1+

A Potato is just like eating pure sugar.Unless that was sarcastic...

No. It's not. Not even close.

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[coreyaugustus]

I can't say much about the actual nutritional facts about potatoes, but they are delicious no matter how you cook them and I always considered them fuel because they seem to digest quickly and easily.

[weiwentg]

Try baked sweet potato "fries" with skins. All you are adding is a little olive oil and spices.

The skins have a fair amount of nutrients, and they're higher in fiber than the flesh (https://www.growingproduce.com/vegetables/the-skinny-on-potato-skin/). I know a lot of recipes for mashed or fried potatoes have you skin the potatoes. And obviously, not everyone may like the texture. But if you're eating potatoes, I'd include the skins. The additional fiber should increase the glycemic index (i.e. make them less like sugar).

Other than that, I don't know that potatoes are better or worse than most other carbohydrates in the right quantity.

[cfox]

The skins have a fair amount of nutrients, and they're higher in fiber than the flesh (https://www.growingproduce.com/vegetables/the-skinny-on-potato-skin/). I know a lot of recipes for mashed or fried potatoes have you skin the potatoes. And obviously, not everyone may like the texture. But if you're eating potatoes, I'd include the skins. The additional fiber should increase the glycemic index (i.e. make them less like sugar).

Other than that, I don't know that potatoes are better or worse than most other carbohydrates in the right quantity.

I know they get a bad rap, but Applebee's and TGI Friday's have been way out in front with this potato skin thing. I commend them on their forward thinking nutrition stance. They also offer them with dairy and protein supplementation (sour cream, cheese, and bacon) for a complete meal.

[weiwentg]

I know they get a bad rap, but Applebee's and TGI Friday's have been way out in front with this potato skin thing. I commend them on their forward thinking nutrition stance. They also offer them with dairy and protein supplementation (sour cream, cheese, and bacon) for a complete meal.

Sour cream, cheese, and bacon are a fair bit of fat, and the fiber in the skin doesn't substitute for green veg. I didn't mean to convey that potato skins in that style are good for your health. Maybe you are pulling my leg?

That said, for most people without health-related dietary restrictions, any food in moderation is OK. Even if you are on a diet, almost everyone has to and should cheat once in a while to maintain their sanity.

[sokyroadie]

mmm - fried taters :banana:

Actually I do a fairly healthy version - nuke the taters till tender, refrigerate till cool, slice/dice them leaving the skins on, and pan fry with a small amount of olive oil to brown, also must have lots of onion in the pan. They taste as good as the real thing, you can also put in the oven vs pan frying the entire time.

[Mzilliox]

eating a potato is nothing at all like eating plain sugar. this incredible misinformation is astounding! there is more to a potato than sugar, but of course people who study things in labs like lab things a lot. people who like stats always quote stats. but there have been entire civilizations who managed to not get fat eating potatoes.

There are so many different kinds of potatoes than the boring flavorless one in the store. red, purple, gold, and sweet. more color and more rare to find probably means more nutrition.

keep eating them, nothing at all wrong with it so long as its not your every meal.

[cfox]

Sour cream, cheese, and bacon are a fair bit of fat, and the fiber in the skin doesn't substitute for green veg. I didn't mean to convey that potato skins in that style are good for your health. Maybe you are pulling my leg?

That said, for most people without health-related dietary restrictions, any food in moderation is OK. Even if you are on a diet, almost everyone has to and should cheat once in a while to maintain their sanity.

oh yes, leg pulling. I thought the Applebee's reference would give it away. You are correct about the skin's nutrition , and I tell my family that every time they give me a puzzled look when I eat the skin of my baked potato.

[Mzilliox]

health threads are my favorite. such a smart species who has no idea what to eat. its fascinating. grow a garden, if it grows there, its good to eat. that includes sugar potatoes

[buddybikes]

Do french fries and gravy, that will slow the glycemic value down :-) and you will have Canadian friends knocking your door down

[RC.]

eating a potato is nothing at all like eating plain sugar. this incredible misinformation is astounding! there is more to a potato than sugar, but of course people who study things in labs like lab things a lot. people who like stats always quote stats. but there have been entire civilizations who managed to not get fat eating potatoes.

There are so many different kinds of potatoes than the boring flavorless one in the store. red, purple, gold, and sweet. more color and more rare to find probably means more nutrition.

keep eating them, nothing at all wrong with it so long as its not your every meal.

Well this is easy enough to prove. Go down to your local Rite Aid and purchase an A1c test. They're relatively cheap. Test your blood after eating a meal of potatoes and see what it does to you. I did and potatoes affected my blood sugar. I stopped eating them.

[Ronsonic]

Potatoes good.

Let's stipulate that we are going to consume some amount of carbohydrates in a day. Much better than grains and dough things.

Perhaps better options, but by far not the worst.

[CDollarsign]

When my wife was pregnant we went to some crunchy natural birthing class and they said to eat a potato every day along with at least a quart of milk because its so nutritionally dense. So there's that...

[nobuseri]

Genuinely interested in learning more about this topic, but not knowing much about potatoes other than they're pretty healthy puts me at a disadvantage. I am having a hard time filtering out what's legit and what is not (i.e. sarcasm, etc).

Either way, this provides a breath of fresh air from the work grind.

Carry on... :beer:

[buddybikes]

Glycemic index changes with what is going into your gut. So if you eat a baked potato alone, without the skin - it will be absorbed the fastest. If you mix raw veggies and some fats it will slow down. However will be converted to sugar at some point. If you pancreas is working correctly, it will stimulate insulin at appropriate time with a closed loop feedback of when it pulls back. As you move towards pre-diabetes (type 2) then this becomes an issue. BG monitors can be interesting trial, but note there is a 20% variance in test results so if you are 120 after eating, a 140 could be because the monitor being off or your sugar going up.

Potatoes equaling cup of sugar, not sure sure about that. I am type 1 and eat potatos without going into hypergyclemia...sure couldn't down a cup of sugar...

Interesting thing about glycemic index, cooked carrots are real low, like candy.

[biker72]

Well this is easy enough to prove. Go down to your local Rite Aid and purchase an A1c test. They're relatively cheap. Test your blood after eating a meal of potatoes and see what it does to you. I did and potatoes affected my blood sugar. I stopped eating them.

I really really like baked potatoes or for that matter any kind potatoes. The baked potatoes I made have no sour cream, no bacon, just a little cheese and lots of sauteed vegetables and a little olive oil. My A1c went crazy. I had to drastically cut back on potatoes.

[hummus_aquinas]

https://frinkiac.com/gif/S05E19/91791/93659.gif?b64lines=SSBKVVNUIFRISU5LIApUSEVZJ1JFIE5 FQVQu

[GOTHBROOKS]

after water polo games our coaches would give us baked potatoes to eat. i didnt understand why but i ate them anyway because i love carbs.
in all 25 years of being a type 1 diabetic my a1c has never really fluctuated away from the 5.5-6 range. i never cut potatoes out of my diet. just real soda.
http://i.imgur.com/MUs5DJ1.gif
do you represent the estate of charlie chaplin?

[Fixed]

Before power bars potatoes were a popular ride food along fig newtons bananas and jelly sandwiches .
Cheers

[Gummee]

Life is short.

Eat what you want in moderation.

M

[stev0]

IIRC, our understanding of potatoes has changed a bit over time. My layperson's interpretation is (very) roughly:

[STARCH GOOD] >> Not going back too far, it was thought that potatoes were good because they had lots of starch (complex carbs), which is better than simple carbs in terms of glycemic load and provided "slow-release"/longer-to-digest energy which would be good nutrition for athletes.

[STARCH BAD] >> Then, it was realized that not all starches are equal, and some starch breaks down very easily, providing a massive dose of simple carbs rather than something slow-digesting with a low glycemic load. This was thought to apply to potatoes, and many other starchy food sources, and many were told to avoid starch like the plague.

[RESISTANT/SLOW STARCH GOOD]>> More recently, potatoes are thought to have very high "resistant starch" content (which can be brought out by cooking then cooling the potatoes), which some claim lowers the glycemic load of all nutritional intake for some extended time period thereafter.

I think the jury is out on lasting effects of resistant starch intake on glycemic load and insulin response (i.e. needs more study), but it's clear that it's not as simple as POTATO = BAD. Even old studies show that glycemic response to potatoes varies quite a bit.

As for me.. my undying love of fries, poutine, and all things potato will probably keep me in the POTATO = GOOD camp. Here's a totally-not-healthy-at-all potato and dill soup recipe that I love to make when I throw all my nutritional tracking out the window:

[peel, cube & boil] 7 large potatoes
[chop & boil] 2 onions, together with potatoes
[chop] 1 bunch of scallions, tons of dill (~2 bunches)
[strain] water from potatoes/onions
[lightly mash] potato and onions (optional, but preferred)
[add & stir] 1 US pint heavy cream, 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
[add & stir] scallions and dill (optional: save some for garnish)
[cook] for about 10 minutes at low boil
[add & stir] 1 cup of sour cream (full fat!)
[simmer] till sour cream is incorporated and warm
[season] with salt/pepper to taste

[pbarry]

^^ Great recipe, (and I might make it once on a holiday), but, the amount of saturated fat in the above is more than I'd dream of eating on a regular basis. Your caveats are well taken. ;)

[adamhell]

FWIW check out Andrew "Spudfit" Taylor. https://spudfit.com/
he was a "food addict" addicted to chocolate cake and [vegan] other junk food. he was vegan for 8 years but was emotionally reliant on the wrong vegan foods (ie choco cake). he wanted to "quit" food the way a drug addict quits, but you obviously can't quit food altogether. so he researched what one boring food could sustain you for an extended time, and discovered that the plain white/russet potato was the answer. under strict doctor supervision, he ate nothing but potatoes (and yes, some sweet potatoes) for an entire year (& supplemented a few nutrients like B12 and D3, nothing more).

he ate nothing but potatoes for all of 2016 (maybe with a little salt or garlic powder for taste). he lost over 100 pounds, and his blood readings were great. on top of this, he kicked his clinical depression and claims to be much happier. he still eats plenty of potatoes in addition to other whole/unprocessed foods.

he now has a following of people who do this (again, under strict doctor supervision), and these people are getting the same results he did.

i have tried this for a day, and i'll be honest, it's hard. he claims that he struggled and was miserable for the first two weeks of it, but that once he got over the hump, it was easy and even enjoyable. you can learn more about it on his website, and he is interviewed on the rich roll podcast.

[avalonracing]

True story, last night my girlfriend and I were eating potato chips while we were making mashed potatoes to go with our dinner. And to think I thought I found my dream girl... a thin, long-legged woman in her 40's who says potato chips are literally her favorite food.

[pbarry]

True story, last night my girlfriend and I were eating potato chips while we were making mashed potatoes to go with our dinner. And to think I thought I found my dream girl... a thin, long-legged woman in her 40's who says potato chips are literally her favorite food.

Keeper! :) :hello:

[oldpotatoe]

but there have been entire civilizations who managed to not get fat eating potatoes..

doh!!

[velofinds]

I like potatoes. In moderation they are ok, but I try to be mindful of intake unless I know I'm going on a ride or run sometime soon thereafter. They occupy the same space for me as bread, pasta, and rice.

[BikeNY]

I have never studied the nutritional value of potatoes, and don't plan to. I eat them maybe once a week, also sweet potatoes every once in a while. As with everything, the key work is moderation.

That reminds me, it's almost that time of year to make a big pot of my German grandmothers potato soup! Much healthier than the recipe posted earlier. cubed potatoes (I leave the skin on), lots of other root veggies, leeks, a bunch of herbs and spices and some beef bullion. Cook until everything is soft and then roughly mash. Sliced hot dogs are optional!

[paredown]

I have never studied the nutritional value of potatoes, and don't plan to. I eat them maybe once a week, also sweet potatoes every once in a while. As with everything, the key work is moderation.

That reminds me, it's almost that time of year to make a big pot of my German grandmothers potato soup! Much healthier than the recipe posted earlier. cubed potatoes (I leave the skin on), lots of other root veggies, leeks, a bunch of herbs and spices and some beef bullion. Cook until everything is soft and then roughly mash. Sliced hot dogs are optional!

I don't do meat--but my my go-to for winter is similar--a leek soup recipe picked up from watching Jacques Pepin--lots of leeks sauteed in olive oil and a bit of butter, then garlic plus cubed potatoes, and blended. I'll usually add some chopped greens at the end-kale works well. No dairy needed to thicken if you make it right.

[ORMojo]

I'm currently in CO, and while the TV news was in the background this morning, a commercial for "Colorado Potatoes (https://www.coloradopotato.org/)" caught my ear . . . probably because this thread had me more aware of the subject. Not a product I had previously strongly associated with CO.

[John H.]

I think the question of potatoes is more whether they fall into the type and quantity of carbs that you desire to eat. (glycemic index and grams of carbs).

But if you are getting the rest of the picture wrong- bad meat, junk food, processed foods, processed sugars, processed oils, alcohol- It matters little if you eat potatoes or not.

[Johnny P]

Then there is this: https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2002nl/apr/potatoes.htm

[2metalhips]

Then there is this: https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2002nl/apr/potatoes.htm

You get it. Dr McDougall is master of nutrition, been helping people for decades. So much misinformation on nutrition on this forum it's scary.

[velofinds]

Yeah, sooo scary :rolleyes:

Different things work for different people. Who would've thought?

[RC.]

You get it. Dr McDougall is master of nutrition, been helping people for decades. So much misinformation on nutrition on this forum it's scary.

I started to read this well outdated (2002) article and couldn't get past this:

According to the USDA, potatoes are the most important vegetable in the United States. Over the past several decades, frozen potato consumption rose and fresh potato consumption declined. African-Americans eat more potato chips and French fries per capita than do other Americans.

It immediately made me look up the diabetes statistics here in the US.

http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/statistics/

[dasein]

I exercise about 15 hours weekly: running, riding, swimming, lifting. So, despite the fact that I have been a regular exerciser from my teens to present at age 50, I dipped for too many years. After I finally gave up chewing tobacco worrying that I would develop mouth cancer, I started researching ways to undo potential damage. I started eating foods rich in vitamin A since some research suggests they might prevent oral and throat cancers. Now, I eat about 3-4 whole sweet potatoes weekly, along with other orange produce.

I've made many mistakes in my life and dipping is the only I regret.

[buddybikes]

Why not read the whole article!:

Don't confuse baked or boiled potatoes with American's favorite forms of potatoes: French fries and potato chips. Cooking a nutritious food like potatoes in oil increases the percentage of fat from 1% to 36% for French fries, and up to 58% for potato chips. Often the fats used for cooking the potatoes are the most damaging forms: saturated and hydrogenated fats – linked closely with heart disease and cancer.