Potatoes Are Pillars of Worldwide Nutrition

[Guest guest]

I know this is long, but it's good.

 

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April 2002 Vol. 1 No. 4

 

Potatoes Are Pillars of Worldwide Nutrition

 

Potatoes are so tied into human life and nutrition that one of the first

toys to be advertised on TV and still popular after 50 years is " Mr. Potato

Head. " With its " eyes " and round body shape the potato has been used to imitate

the human form. But all fun aside, the potato has improved human health and

nutrition, influenced wars, patterns of human migration, and the economy of many

nations for hundreds of years. The potato is indigenous to various parts of

South America; plants in a wild state have been found on the Peruvian coast, as

well as on the mountainous lands of Central Chile and Argentina. The Spaniards

are believed to have first brought potatoes from Quito, Ecuador to Europe in the

early part of the sixteenth century. European immigrants introduced potatoes to

North America throughout the 1600s, but they were not widely grown until 1719 in

America.

 

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. Seniors favor fresh and canned

potatoes, while teenagers eat more chips and French fries than do other age

groups.

 

The Much Maligned Potato

 

A recent Time magazine article put potatoes on the level of bacon grease

as far as your heart and health are concerned.1 " According to Meir Stampfer, a

nutrition professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, the problem is

potato starch. When you eat a potato and that starch hits the saliva in your

mouth, its tightly bundled molecules immediately get turned into sugars, which

make a beeline for the blood. 'You ate a potato,' says Stampfer, 'but your body

is getting pure glucose.' The flood of blood sugar sets off a chain reaction.

Insulin pours out of the pancreas. Triglycerides shoot up. HDL cholesterol

takes a dive. 'It's a perfect setup for heart disease and diabetes.' " " Experts "

who make these statements show telescopic vision by latching onto one small

quality of a food and blowing it into national headlines - ignoring the big

picture and the truth. The focus for such statements made by Stampfer and

others is a concept called the glycemic index (GI).

 

Glycemic Index - of Questionable Importance

 

The concept of glycemic index was introduced by David Jenkins in the early

1980s (He was a recent guest on my TV Show, " McDougall, MD " ). The glycemic

index is a ranking based on the food's immediate effect on blood glucose (blood

sugar) levels. Carbohydrate foods that break down quickly during digestion have

the highest glycemic indexes. The value is expressed as a percent comparison

with the rise that occurs with white sugar or white bread. GI is influenced by

starch structure (amylose versus amylopectin), fiber content, food processing,

physical structure of the food, and other macronutrients in the meal. Low-GI

foods lower glucose and insulin responses, improve lipid profiles, and increase

insulin sensitivity. Thus, some researchers believe GI has an overwhelming

influence on the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity.

 

However, the use of GI as the sole criterion to pass judgment on a food as

" good or bad " for you is wrong. There are many other qualities of a food that

contribute to its nutritional value that must be taken into consideration before

recommending or condemning a particular food. Based on GI, for example, whole

wheat bread (GI=129) is worse for you than ice cream (GI = 51) and carrots

(GI=131) are worse for you than sugar sweetened chocolate (GI=49). 2 A baked

potato with a GI of 134 would be an unhealthier choice than a Mars candy bar at

a GI of 97. Obviously, those who condemn unprocessed high glycemic index plant

foods are overlooking some serious issues.

 

One of the lowest glycemic index foods is the simple sugar fructose. The

GI value is 29. Yet this food is simply empty calories with no protein,

essential fat, vitamins, minerals, or dietary fiber. Of all the sugars,

fructose is the one that raises cholesterol and triglycerides the most, and

therefore would be considered one of the worst foods for people trying to

prevent heart and other blood vessel diseases.3 Because of the contradictions

and limitations surrounding the GI, the most recent position statement of the

American Diabetic Association does not recommend using this concept in the

treatment and prevention of diabetes and related complications.4 They state, " In

subjects with type 2 diabetes, studies of 2-12 weeks duration comparing low

glycemic index and high glycemic index diets report no consistent improvements

in HbA1c, fructosamine, or insulin levels. The effects on lipids from low

glycemic index diets compared with high glycemic index diets are mixed. "

 

Another problem with following a low GI diet is the difficulty in finding

the foods and preparing the meals so they continue to be low GI foods. Food

preparation, cooking, and storage will change the GI of foods. Furthermore, it

is virtually impossible to determine the GI of foods prepared outside the home.

The data is conflicting and reports from different investigators reveal a

sometimes-wide range of glycemic index values for certain foods. You could

spend your whole day chasing after low GI foods that in the end will not make

you a speck healthier and will make you a whole lot more confused, especially

when you see the negative results from all your efforts.

 

One of the common recommendations from " diet experts " who express concerns

about the glycemic index of carbohydrate foods is for you to change to a

low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet. In last month's issue of the McDougall

Newsletter (February 2002) we discussed some of the dangers, including an

increased risk of heart disease, kidney disease, and osteoporosis, of these

kinds of nutritionally unbalanced diets.

 

Chock Full of Nutrition

 

Consider that the primary purpose of eating is to obtain enough energy to

function throughout the day, and the body's preferred source of this energy is

carbohydrate. Therefore, the foods that deliver the greatest amount of

carbohydrate would logically be nutritionally superior and a high glycemic index

food would be preferred. So why condemn a food for doing what it is supposed to

do - provide efficient fuel for your body?

 

There is much more to nutritionally packed potatoes than just calories.

They have 2.5 grams of dietary fiber per potato. That translates into 50 grams

for an active man and 37 grams for an active woman. The average American eats

about 10 grams of dietary fiber daily. Ideally people on a healthy diet would

eat 30 to 100 grams of fiber a day. Potatoes are very high in vitamin C, most B

vitamins, potassium and other minerals. Just as important are the recognized

health hazards you are avoiding with potatoes -- like sodium, cholesterol, and

fat. Of the calories from potatoes, only 1% comes from fat, and these few fats

are mostly the kind that we need, called essential fats.

 

One important reason people think of potatoes as fattening and unhealthy

is all the toppings poured over them, like high-fat gravies, bacon bits, cheese,

sour cream, and butter. Fortunately, there are many healthy (no-cholesterol,

low-fat) toppings that you can choose like chives, salsas, low-fat tofu sour

cream, low-fat soy cheeses, low-fat salad dressings, soups, chilies, marinara,

and bean sauces.

 

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.

 

There is no cholesterol in a potato and insignificant amounts of

cholesterol-raising saturated fats. People in New Guinea living on diets

consisting almost entirely of sweet potato tubers (with an even greater

percentage of carbohydrate calories than white potatoes) and leaves have

cholesterol levels on the average of 108 mg/dl.5 (Cholesterol levels below 150

mg/dl are associated with immunity from heart disease.) Heart disease is

unknown in these people on their sweet potato diet. In animal experiments

potatoes have been shown to have a particularly potent cholesterol lowering

effect.6 Therefore, any expert who says potatoes will lead to heart disease

ignores the scientific literature and common sense.

 

Complete Nutrition and Protein from Potatoes

 

Potatoes can provide complete nutrition for children and adults. Many

populations, for example people in rural populations of Poland and Russia at the

turn of the 19th century, have lived in very good health doing extremely hard

work with the white potato serving as their primary source of nutrition.

 

One landmark experiment carried out in 1925 on two healthy adults, a man

25 years old and a woman 28 years old, had them live on a diet primarily of

white potatoes for 6 months (A few additional items of little nutritional value

except for empty calories -- pure fats, a few fruits, coffee, and tea -- were

supplemented in their diet).7 The report stated, " They did not tire of the

uniform potato diet and there was no craving for change. " Even though they were

both physically active (especially the man) they were described as, " .in good

health on a diet in which the nitrogen (protein) was practically solely derived

from the potato. "

 

The potato is such a great source of nutrition that it can supply all of

the essential protein and amino acids for young children in times of food

shortage. Eleven Peruvian children, ages 8 months to 35 months, recovering from

malnutrition, were fed diets where all of the protein and 75% of the calories

came from potatoes. (Soybean-cottonseed oils and pure simple sugars, neither of

which contain protein, vitamins, or minerals, provided some of the extra

calories).8 Studies during the experimental feeding showed this simple diet

provided all the protein and essential amino acids to meet the needs of growing

and small children.

 

Eggs have been promoted for their " perfect pattern " of essential amino

acids found in the protein. However, when volunteer subjects were fed different

foods to determine the ability of humans to utilize various protein mixtures,

investigators found that our bodies can more efficiently utilize the amino acids

in a mixture of potatoes and eggs -- 36% better -- than those from eggs alone.9

 

Potatoes Are Naturally Slimming

 

In our society where over-nutrition is the problem, some experts consider

a high glycemic index value for a food a fundamental health hazard. But they

are mistaken - as you noticed above, the really fattening foods, like sugar,

candy bars, and ice cream, are the ones with a low GI. The potato, with a high

GI, does not deserve a reputation for being fattening, because as I will show,

it is virtually impossible to consume too many calories from potatoes.

 

One 5-ounce baked potato has 150 calories. An active man may burn 3000

calories a day and a woman 2300 calories a day. That means the man would have

to eat 20 potatoes and the woman 15 potatoes or they would lose weight. That's

5 to 7 large potatoes per meal, three times a day - a big dent in even the

hardiest appetite - especially considering potatoes are among the most

satisfying of all foods (see below).

 

When it comes to the national health epidemic of obesity there are only

three food issues to consider:

 

1) Don't Be Dense. Potatoes are at the bottom of the list of calorie

dense foods, at one calorie per gram. By comparison, sugar, cheese, and beef

are about 4 calories per gram and vegetable oils are 9 calories per gram.

 

2) The Fat You Eat Is the Fat You Wear. Potatoes are 1% fat - so

there are virtually no fat calories to wear. By comparison beef and cheese can

be 70% fat and butter is 100% fat.

 

3) Carbohydrate Satisfies the Hunger Drive. Potatoes are at the top

of the carbohydrate list with about 90% of the calories from appetite-satisfying

carbohydrates. Beef, fish, chicken, butter, and olive oil are a few examples of

commonly consumed foods with no carbohydrates. Only 2% of the calories from

cheese come from carbohydrates.

 

One of the strongest risk factors for type II diabetes and heart disease

is excess body fat. Therefore, any expert who says potatoes will lead to

diabetes or obesity is ignoring the bulk of the scientific and nutrition

literature. And they are ignoring an observation anyone can make: People living

on diets high in starch (like Japanese and Chinese) are trim, young, and active

people with very low rates of diabetes.

 

Simply Satisfying Spuds

 

The reason I eat is to satisfy my powerful hunger drive. I can't ever

remember thinking about the glycemic index of my foods when I sat down to a

meal. Just fill me up and get rid of those unpleasant hunger pangs so I can get

on to my next project. In a recent experiment, 38 separate foods were fed to

subjects and a rating of their level of satisfaction (satiety index) was

determined every 15 minutes for 2 hours after the meal. The highest satiety

index was produced by boiled white potatoes, which was seven times higher than

the lowest index of croissants. 10 Potatoes were almost 5 times more

satisfying than a Mars candy bar and twice as satisfying as beef or cheese. The

main reasons for this high level of satisfaction were the low calorie density,

the high carbohydrate, and low fat contents of the potato. Carbohydrate

satisfies the hunger drive, whereas fat offers almost no satisfaction.

 

Does It Make Sense?

 

People in Peru, the potato capital of the world, have about one-quarter

the death rate from heart disease of people in the USA. Obesity and diabetes

are very rare, even today, in Peru. But things are changing. Fast food

restaurants are encroaching on Peru's major cities -- serving French fried

potatoes, shakes, and burgers. Soon this potato-eating country will have an

epidemic of diseases similar to those in the US. Why? Because they have

abandoned their traditional foods, and especially the much maligned potato.

 

When you read a sensational article in newspapers or magazines, like Time,

ask yourself, " Does it make sense - based upon everything else I know? " The

potato is a much loved, inexpensive, " comfort " food that continues to provide a

large part of people's nutritional needs worldwide. And the potato should

continue to make up a large part of your diet. Based upon the facts, if famine

struck and times were desperate, and I had to choose only one food to live on --

potatoes would keep me strong and healthy until the stock market's Dow Jones

Industrial Average hit 11,722.98 again.

 

 

~Janice~

Be your own cheerleader! Encourage yourself every step of the way!

 

Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission.

-Eleanor Roosevelt-

 

" Do not blame others for making you mad. Anger is a choice. Choose wisely "

 

If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian.

~Paul McCartney ~