Potatoes as main source of carbs

Hello everybody. I have a question.

My main source of carbs is, by far, potatoes. Potatoes are awesome and delicious and versatile and I could eat them all day everyday. They give me superpowers. And I never get tired of them, while I do get tired by other foods - like eggs, or rice. My potato consumption increased ever since starting Thrive - now I have potatoes for dinner pretty much everyday, especially because I can bake three kg of them on Sundays, and have them ready during the week.

My roommate noticed this. She is in med school, and doing her nutrition courses just right now. She keeps telling me that potatoes are a nightshade, that they contain solanine, and that so much solanine is bad for me. Especially, she says, since I also eat a ton of tomatoes - which is not wrong: I am Italian and I need tomatoes to be alive.

So my question is as follows: is she right? Could she be right, given the right circumstances? And if the answer is "no", how do I make her shut up for good on the subject?

I have been doing my own research on the subject, but I am interested to hear what you knowledgeable people have to say. I like comparing notes.

(And for who is interested, the answers I found by myself so far are "no", "no", and "kill her", but I'm open to changing them, especially the last one)

Thank you all in advance <3

F

Helllo,

Wikipedia suggests that a normal potato has between 7–187 mg/kg solanine content. Green potatoes have a lot more. Solanium is a glycoalkaloid and according to Wikipedia normal potato has 12–20 mg/kg of total glycoalkaloid content. These two appear to be in conflict, but it may just be that the first is the total variation and the second refers to the normal range.

The same said source suggests that according to the The U.S. National Toxicology Program the average American should consume at most 12.5 mg/day of solanine from potatoes.

I did a quick literature search via Medline and the sources seem to suggest 1.0 mg/kg a safe daily dose for ~99% of people. All the case studies about solanine poisoning were published several decades back.

The above would indicate that you would have to eat a lot of normal potatoes to reach toxic doses. However, green potatoes have several times the glycoalkaloids that normal potatoes have. The case studies of solanine poisoning were related to green potatoes.

You could ask your roommate if she would be interested in searching Scopus and Medline databases together with you. I bet that would be a good learning experience considering that she is in medical school.

Remember that it is the dose that makes the poison.

As a side note, I think that there have been some large scale human experiments dealing with this stuff done by accident, because the amounts of potatoes that you eat aren't exceptional when compared to the amounts of potatoes people eat in the Nordic countries for example.

Olli has a great point of view. 

Just to play devils advocate give this a read 

http://www.20potatoesaday.com

Potatoes are one of the greatest carb sources for me: Exceptionally versatile, low calorie density, and for some reason they fill me up like no other carb. Weight loss would be soo much easier if people switched all their bread to potatoes. Been trying to tell this to my mom.

I don't eat potatoes at all (an atypical Finn for sure) - my starchy vegetables of choice are sweet potatoes, pumpkins and squashes. When eaten with oil you get lots of carotenoids you don't get from potatoes. I try to match starch intake to my training intensity and I've found I don't really need a lot. Most of my energy comes from fats and with low insulin I have quite stable energy levels throughout the day.

Petri, those are some of my favorites, but I eat potatoes too. Variety is king.

Last year, when my doctor saw my blood test he yelled: “You’re a pumpkin!” What do you mean? I asked. I turns out my carotenoids levels were up to the roof (425 ug/dL, 60-200 is standard range). No harm in that, I guess. Red, orange and yellow vegetables and fruits do the trick. I think that dark leafy greens also make the cut for carotenoids’ protective health benefits.

Fabio, good post. But the burden of proof is on your roomate. She brougth the up that your are eating something "bad", so make her do all the work to prove her point. Although Olli and Jeff provided good information to share with her.

Petri, those options look yummy. Dominik: inteinteresting article, but accurate self reported use of Solanaceae (like they used) in that population is probably going to be a challenge.

 I want to add, since starting Thrive, I have been ADDING pleasant foods back into my meals that are enjoyable. Potatoes at the right time being one of them. I think they have contributed to improved satiety, rest and recovery.

On ‎26‎/‎04‎/‎2016 at 2:58 PM, Eva Pelegrin said:

Petri, those are some of my favorites, but I eat potatoes too. Variety is king.

Last year, when my doctor saw my blood test he yelled: “You’re a pumpkin!” What do you mean? I asked. I turns out my carotenoids levels were up to the roof (425 ug/dL, 60-200 is standard range). No harm in that, I guess. Red, orange and yellow vegetables and fruits do the trick. I think that dark leafy greens also make the cut for carotenoids’ protective health benefits.

Agreed, Eva. Carotenoids help protect your skin against UV radiation so they are surely useful - they actually give your skin an orange-yellow tinge if consumed enough. As they are lipophilic it's better to eat them with some type of fat to boost absorption. Capsicums are another good source. Dark leafy vegs like spinach also provide loads of folate. Never had my carotenoid levels measured but my folate levels were excellent when determined last year.

@Petri Widsten now that you mentioned it, my folate levels are usually high too.

My go to ingredient for fat is extra virgin olive oil (from Catalonia, my native country). With dark leafy greens, potatoes or brown rice, always, always, extra virgin olive oil + sea salt (autopilot). The flavors of pumpkins, sweet potatoes and squashes (Acorn is my favorite) are SO good that I steam them and eat them plain without butter. But I'll typically have a source of fat with any meal.

Capsicums. I love raw peepers! I don't buy them weekly or that often because organic peppers are very expensive in Manhattan and the regulars (laden with pesticides) are not an option. I still eat the organic ones maybe 1-2x/month. I spend all my money in quality foods and education. But it bothers me to pay $5 for an organic tomato or a pepper. If my grandma saw these prices… she would die again. Not to mention that their taste doesn't compare to the ones she grew in her garden. In Manhattan, people don't even know what a tomato is supposed to taste like. Sorry, top of the world!

Potatoes, like all grains, contain many toxic antinutrients like lectins, trypsin inhibitors and saponins, which are harmful for health and performance. That is why I don't eat potatoes (I am on a Paleo diet).

First of all, thanks for all the replies. They have certainly been interesting!

@Olli Kantola, thank you for your research. I too went on wikipedia to check for actual amounts, but she promptly shunned that datum on the premise that it's not the amount in each meal that creates problem (because, as you found out, I would need to eat around 5kg of potatoes to get solanine intoxication), but the accumulation in tissue over longer periods - especially as I eat tomatoes regularly and very frequently, which are another nightshade.

However, on the regard of prolonged consumption, the website linked by @Jeff Serven offers an excellent counterpoint. Thanks Jeff, I didn't know about that guy, and it has certainly been interesting reading about his shenanigans! I think that I can now safely be confident that there's no hidden danger in potatoes, after all - not that I ever really doubted it...

@Ryan Bailey, I agree with you completely. Usually it would have been easy for me to simply disregard her - I have to do it all the time, as the specific brand of medic she belongs to are wont to believe they know ALL about EVERYTHING. She has a tendency to say "I study medicine, I know what I'm saying" as proof of her statements First things she told me when I showed her videos of my training: don't squat that deep, don't bounce with knees completely extended.

However, this time she brought forth a point that I never considered (accumulation), so I thought it could be a good opportunity to ask for the opinion of this community. And I good a bunch of very good new info (and things to research upon), for which I thank you all.

@Léo Aïtoulha I am sure that there are some paleo circles that consider potatoes a grain, but they definitely are not.

@Eva Pelegrin fa sis anys que visc a Barcelona

The biggest thing I draw from this discussion is: disregard roommate, acquire tubers (not just potatoes). Grocery store here I come

I am a bit lazy when it comes down to cooking for myself, so my potato preparation usually boils down to baking around 2kg at a time in the oven. I cut them in square sticks 1cm thick, leaving the skin on, then spray then with some olive oil (extra virgin only, or my Italian blood starts boiling), sprinkle sea salt and oregano on them, and bake until slightly before completely cooked. Then store in the fridge and finish cooking as needed - sometimes adding other spices (I love curry), if I feel like it. In the days when I feel less lazy , I peel the skin, make them in bigger chunks, then steam together with some string beans, sprinkle oil, salt, and vinegar, and destroy them on the spot, while singing about joy and happiness. For some reason, I don't like eating potatoes with butter or with cheese - feels too "heavy" of a meal, to me, but maybe that's just an habit.

16 hours ago, Eva Pelegrin said:

@Petri Widsten now that you mentioned it, my folate levels are usually high too.

My go to ingredient for fat is extra virgin olive oil (from Catalonia, my native country). With dark leafy greens, potatoes or brown rice, always, always, extra virgin olive oil + sea salt (autopilot). The flavors of pumpkins, sweet potatoes and squashes (Acorn is my favorite) are SO good that I steam them and eat them plain without butter. But I'll typically have a source of fat with any meal.

Capsicums. I love raw peepers! I don't buy them weekly or that often because organic peppers are very expensive in Manhattan and the regulars (laden with pesticides) are not an option. I still eat the organic ones maybe 1-2x/month. I spend all my money in quality foods and education. But it bothers me to pay $5 for an organic tomato or a pepper. If my grandma saw these prices… she would die again. Not to mention that their taste doesn't compare to the ones she grew in her garden. In Manhattan, people don't even know what a tomato is supposed to taste like. Sorry, top of the world!

New Zealand, where I live, has great ev-olive oils that I use daily. Another favourite of mine is macadamia nut oil from Australia. I also devour entire avocados, grown in NZ, for that great oil. As I also eat NZ King Salmon or other local fish daily I think I have a fairly high fat diet.

@Fabio Pinna That's great! Sometimes lazy comes with benefits. The skin potatoes contains around 1/2 the total dietary fiber, although most nutrients I believe are found within the potato itself. To me the skin is the best tasting part. I never bother peeling them. I use a potato brush to clean them (a Vileda Salva Uñas works just as good). Actually, I prefer buying the smaller potatoes because I get more skin per square inch, haha. I really like the purple ones as they have a nutty, earthy taste and creamy texture plus low sugar.

Potatoes are the next super food! And glutten-free. There’s gotta be one potato here that even your roommate may like. 

@Petri Widsten "Macademia nut oil" never tried it, but a quick Google search indicates it's the Holy Grail (from reducing hair loss to preventing signs of aging, age spots, macular degeneration... and the list goes on).
It sounds like we both have a similar fat diet. I suspect that my portions might be smaller, but I do eat avocados daily, pine nuts daily (Mediterranean gene runs deep), wild salmon often, hummus, coconut, almonds, seeds, eggs... Btw, I have a friend from New Zeeland, who once showed me how he ate his avocados: cutting them in half and using a spoon! it never occurred to me to do it that way, since I always slice them with a knife and spread them on stuff. 

What does it matter if it is or is not a nightshade if you don't have an autoimmune?

Define "more nutritious" in regards to yams and sweet potatoes vs. white potatoes?

Eva, macadamia nut oil is like liquid gold. 80% of monounsaturated fats and high in micronutrients. Kind of buttery and great for frying. In Finland you can buy the same NZ brand (Olivado) of Aussie mac oil and NZ avo oil in some large supermarkets. 

I eat mixed nuts daily and an avocado with a spoon ☺ so we do seem to have similar diets.

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If we talk solanine and you want to reduce it's content in potatoes just peel the skin a little thicker because most of the solanine is in the skin and right under it  (sorry skin lovers) and don't use potatoes that turn green (or peel even thicker) and don't eat sprouted ones. And cook at high temperature - at least 170C (338F). That's it.

Or get serious and find out solanine content in variety that you use and do the math

Actually commercial varieties usually contain no more than 12mg/100g (3-13 average) and if higher than 14mg then it will become bitter. Russet is 8mg/100g on average (McDonald's uses it ) . So i guess it's pretty safe to eat good quality potatoes with skin especially if you already do it  

Kind of curious how you dealt with this - did you change your potato eating habit,  introduce a greater variety of carb sources or just peel your potatoes?  

With diet I feel like people get so deep into the minutia when it's not really necessary. If you are meeting your goals, your blood work is good and you like what you're eating what's the problem. 

Genetics play a huge role on digestion of certain foods btw

I suspect a more important issue isn't the over consumption of potatoes but the corresponding under consumption of other super health sources of CHO (wide variety of veggies and fruits)