[teslabox]

Nightshades are problematic for stressed and old people because the plants have mild poisons. Old people and addicts tend to not be able to handle the poisons in tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants and chilis.

But for people that are nightshade-tolerant potatoes are an excellent food crop.

IIRC, someone was annoyed that do-gooders wanted to remove potatoes from the food stamp programs, because the potato is actually an almost-complete food. This has morphed into The Potato Diet, which calls for eating potatoes and only potatoes for a short period of time.

  From the start of October through November in 2010, 
  Voigt consumed only spuds, a few basic seasonings 
  and small amounts of oil for cooking. His endeavor 
  drew attention from NBC’s Today Show, CBS News, Fox, 
  NPR and the UK’s Daily Telegraph.
  
  Voigt documented his journey through a blog 
  ( 20potatoesaday.com ). Tired of potatoes 
  getting a bad rap as being nothing but fattening 
  starch and carbs, he wanted to make a statement 
  that proved potatoes were very nutritious.

- https://spudman.com/article/all-potato-diet-eight-years-late...

[mongol]

The theory behind it is that potatoes are the most filling food of all, so it is hard to over-eat. I tried this diet, and it works for weight loss, but it soon made me feel very unsatisfied. But with a little bit of variation, i.e. making potatoes the base and adding limited extra ingredients, you can sustain on it longer.

[CoastalCoder]

I thought one of the issues with potatoes is that they have a really high glycemic index, not lack of nutrients.

So consistently eating a lot of them increases one's risk of Type 2 diabetes.

[BSOhealth]

This is true. Most of the potatoes eaten are valuable in caloric-deprived situations, but they are not a long-term healthy food due to the thrashing they do to insulin management.

[alecco]

That is misleading. Potatoes are ranked as one of the most satiating foods per calorie. The problem is people put a lot of butter/oil on them. Or eat them too processed.

[switknee]

Potatoes are not particularly high on the satiety index (~33%). Brocolli and spinach are much higher at near 100%

https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/marty.kendall7139/viz...

I've been reading that what gives potatoes a satiety boost is that they contain proteinase inhibitors. These limit your appetite by disrupting your digestion. Maybe they are more effective as a weight loss food than the raw nutrition numbers would suggest, but for an athlete that wants to cut I don't think slowing your ability to digest amino acids is a good idea.

[SoftTalker]

The Danes (maybe all Scandinavians?) eat potatoes with almost every meal. Do they have a higher incidence of diabetes?

[switknee]

Where does the idea that potatoes are "almost-complete" in terms of nutrition come from? If you look up nutrition facts for potatoes:

-1 potato contains 110 calories

-Lets say our hypothetical adult will eat 10 potatoes to hit 2200 calories

-The only nutrients which potatoes provide more than 10% recommended daily value are Iron, vitamins C and B6. The iron is not heme iron and therefore may actually be worth less, but we'll say it's enough just for the sake of argument. Potassium and phosphorous are close at 9% and 8%, but everything else is lower.

-The fat content is negligible, which is a problem because your brain is made out of fat

-20 grams of incomplete protein means your body can't repair muscle or bone adequately.

-No cholesterol, which also has negative outcomes

This is a high calorie starvation diet.

[ninalanyon]

> do-gooders wanted to remove potatoes from the food stamp programs, because the potato is actually an almost-complete food.

What on earth?!

[dyauspitr]

Why would they want to remove it if it’s an almost complete food?

[sowbug]

Read the original quote for full context.

[freedomben]

Can you tell me more about nightshade intolerance among addicts?

[teslabox]

Iirc the mild poisons in nightshades trigger the learned helplessness response in people who are on the jagged edge of sobriety.

I think I remember where I read this - check your protonmail address.