TPV Podcast Episode 231, Are Those Potatoes?!

In this episode, Sarah and Stacy discuss the pros and cons of eating the dreaded potato!

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The Paleo View (TPV), Episode 231: Are Those Potatoes?!

• Intro (0:00)
• News and Views (0:40)
  • Stacy caught her first Ditto! So exciting
  • Sarah has so many Dittos, though.
  • Stacy is in California this week on vacation. We’re recording ahead of time.
  • Sarah is that person you know who’s almost completed a Pokemon Go Pokedex.
  • This week’s episode is all about potatoes! Those most reviled of starchy carbs!
• Potatoes! (6:58)
  • Potatoes are a very contentious topic in Paleo!
  • Chris Kresser approved of potatoes back in late 2010 thanks to research by Stephan Guyenet
  • The Whole30 approved of potatoes in July of 2014
  • People who come from a low carb perspective, particularly those who come from Loren Cordain, tend to be angry about the inclusion of potatoes in Paleo.
  • In Paleo Principles, Sarah is breaking down foods into “Paleo Yes”, “Paleo No” and “Paleo Maybe”
  • Potatoes have been demonized as being “pure sugar” or the same as white bread
  • Sarah says to find what you absolutely need to do the rest of the diet. If it’s whipped cream, do it.
  • Stacy loves her iSi Easy Whip
  • Potatoes aren’t empty. They have nutrition similar to other root vegetables.
  • Potatoes have potassium, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, Manganese, Magnesium, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B9, Phosphorous, Iron, and Copper plus a bunch of other trace minerals.
  • Yes they have a high glycemic index, but you can lower it with other foods, such as with fat (butter on your potato perhaps)?
  • Also, cooking and cooling will also break down the starches and lower glycemic response.
  • You can lower it by about half with these tricks.
  • Potatoes are nightshades and contain glycoalkaloids (these are the poisons which make nightshades a problem), which is why they aren’t in the Autoimmune Protocol. But some varieties are higher in them than others
  • Potatoes and other “potatoes” come from completely different groups. They’re both tubers and look similar, but they’re not nearly as related as, say, broccoli and Brussels sprouts
  • Potatoes are much more closely related to tomatoes, peppers, and tobacco than either sweet potatoes or yams
  • Glycoalkaloids are a saponin, which is a chemical that helps mix oil and water.
  • They are toxic, and super high amounts (3-6 mg per kg of body weight) could kill you. Half of that is a toxic dose.
  • Don’t eat green potatoes, those have higher amounts of glycoalkaloids. But a super super large amount of ripe potatoes could be toxic too.
  • Eat a variety of root veggies! Not only potatoes are tasty!
  • Some scientists believe that all these potatoes in the diet are a cause of all the chronic illnesses lately. It’s probably more complicated, but an interesting thought.
  • Glycoalkoloids damage the gut, enter the bloodstream and cause inflammation.
  • Potatoes are tested for safety. The limit is 20 mg glycoalkaloids per 100 g of potato (one small potato).
  • You’d have to eat about 50 pounds of Russets to get a fatal dose
  • Lenape potatoes are very high in toxic chemicals, and have been known to make people sick easily.
  • Other foreign cultivars have thousands of times more toxic chemicals than American grocery store varieties.
  • Most of the glycoalkaloids are in the peel and just below the peel, so peeling will safeguard you from it.
  • Microwaving actually works better at getting rid of the toxicity than other cooking methods. (Microwaves are cool. See this podcast and this post.)
  • There are reasons to eat them, and reasons not to. But don’t lump them in with white sugar or anything because they are different!
  • See Sarah’s post on potatoes, including a chart of potato cultivars and their toxicity!
  • People doing introductions from Autoimmune often find that potatoes are okay since peeling gets rid of most of the toxicity
  • A lot of different things go into whether a particular food is right for you or not. And some “Paleo foods” might not work for you.
  • Don’t get caught up in the lists and the rules and figure out what actually helps you to be healthy and what doesn’t.
  • It’s a good idea to peel potatoes, but if you’re not getting ill from them, definitely eat them for their nutritional content!
  • Replacement starches: green plantain, white or purple sweet potatoes, parsnips, boniata root (Thanks Russ!), squash, cassava, taro root, lotus, turnips, rutabaga
  • Mix up your root veggies! If you eat seasonally, you’ll always be rotating what you eat!
• Outro (50:49)