# potato = unhealthy? wtf? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 10, 2003, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-unhealthy-wtf/147641 "2003-01-10T00:33:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![snac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90db22/32.png) [@snac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snac)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-unhealthy-wtf/147641/21 "2003-01-10T05:00:25Z")
Potatoes made up by far the greatest share of the Irish diet in much of the 19th century. I don’t know what that says, either way. My mother-in-law, who was born in the thirties, got into cooking in a rather big way in the late fifties/early sixties. She basically NEVER cooks potatoes (and according to Mrs. snac, never has). It is partly, I think, that she sees them as plebeian and hopelessly American – a lefty from way back, she puts wine in practically everything and “eats up” (ahem) the latest foreign food crazes – but she also has been heard to say that potatoes are not the least bit healthy. She perceives them, rightly or wrongly, as very high in fat, very low in nutrients, and implicated somehow in my father-in-law’s arthritis. (She has no problem with other, similar-in-some-respcets starches, including rice, non-white bread, and pasta.) Not saying your cop read the same cookbooks, at all, but the same ideas may be floating around out there… ---
**Author:** ![Agback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/977dab/32.png) [@Agback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agback)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-unhealthy-wtf/147641/22 "2003-01-10T06:05:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Muldoon III \* > \*\*Is that really unhealthy though? When I hear “unhealthy” I think polysaturate fats, thousands of calories, hundreds of grams of fat, candy, etc. \*\* Yeah, that’s pretty common. But there never was any evidence that polyunsaturated fats are safe to eat, let alone good for you. The empirical data on which the fad for polyunsaturated fats was based had to do with the role of olive oil in the ‘Mediterranean diet’ and the low rate of heart disease in countries with that diet. Olive oil is a mono-unsaturated fat. It never was established that this was the reason that it inhibits arteriosclerosis. And the people who leaped to the conclusion ‘If mono-unsaturated fats are good, polyunsaturated must be better’ did so entirely without evidence. There is a rival explanation in terms of the fact that olive oil contains a high proportion of linoleic acid, which is a precursor to Series I eiconsanoids. If this explanation turns out to be correct, canola oil will turn out to be so bad for you that the FDA will probably ban its use in food. Soyabean oil may suffer the same fate. As for potatoes, the starches of which they consist are rapidly broken down and absorbed in the digestive track, producing a spike in blood glucose and exciting a spike in insulin secretion. Foods with this property are said to have a high ‘glycaemic index’, and the very latest fad within the dietetic mainstream holds that foods with high glycaemic indices are bad (they are hypothesised to produce insulin resistance, obesity, and type II diabetes). Anyway, there is also a breakaway stream within dietetics which holds that a diet high in carbohydrate and low in protein (which most low-fat diets are) produces a chronically elevated insulin level and a chronically depressed level of the hormone glucagon. The ‘side’ effects of these hormones result in elevated blood pressure, elevated levels of low-density lipoproteins in the blood, obesity, insulin resistance, and type II diabetes. In short, the syndrome that most dieticians attribute to a diet high in fat, especially saturated fat, and most especially cholesterol may in fact be due to carbohydrates. There are several diets that are popular right now that are based on eating lots of protein, very little carbohydrate, and all the fat you want, so long as you avoid canola and soyabean oil, and cook only in olive oil or saturated fats. A little independent evidence is beginning to emerge that these reduce weight and decrease risk factors for arterial disease and type II diabetes. Which conventional low-fat diets don’t achieve except when pushed to the margin of starvation. The scientific verdict is not in yet, but the OP’s cop my have heard of glycaemic index, or he might have been on something like the Atkins diet. Regards, Agback ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-unhealthy-wtf/147641/23 "2003-01-10T08:30:09Z")
There’s no such thing as healthy or unhealthy foods; _ **diets and eating habits** _ can be unhealthy, but any food can be incorporated into a healthy balanced diet. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-unhealthy-wtf/147641/24 "2003-01-10T09:22:41Z")
You know, I wouldn’t let the question of whether a potato was healthy or not get to me. “Fuck” is just a tad overreaction. ---
**Author:** ![In\_Conceivable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4bbf92/32.png) [@In\_Conceivable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Conceivable)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-unhealthy-wtf/147641/25 "2003-01-10T12:17:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mightyaphrodite \* > \*\*It’s not that potatoes are bad for you, it’s just that they’re not particularly nutritious. You have to understand the difference between the two. “Bad for you” means that eating it is detrimental to your health, such as candy. Not nutritious simply means that it’s not a suitable source of required nutrients. \*\* Potatoes are a low fat low calorie food. They have almost 2 grams of fiber, 40% of the RDA of vitamin C and 16% of the RDA of B-6. How is that not nutritious? ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-unhealthy-wtf/147641/26 "2003-01-10T13:06:50Z")
> [@](#): > > Starch or not I can’t figure out how someone can consider that to be bad for you Right here: > [@](#): > > Total Carbohydrate 21.94g 7% > Dietary Fiber 1.95g 8% which is apx 20g of absorbable carbs. For a Atkins dieter this could be 50% to 100% of the daily carb allowance (in one snack). ---
**Author:** ![SlickRoenick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@SlickRoenick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlickRoenick)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-unhealthy-wtf/147641/27 "2003-01-10T13:08:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Walloon \* > \*\*You know, I wouldn’t let the question of whether a potato was healthy or not get to me. “Fuck” is just a tad overreaction. \*\* If you’re referring to the title of the OP, the part that says “wtf?” then you have me mistaken **Walloon**. To me, wtf means What the funk? or What the flip? You shouldn’t assume, it leads to assumptions:D ---
**Author:** ![In\_Conceivable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4bbf92/32.png) [@In\_Conceivable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Conceivable)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-unhealthy-wtf/147641/28 "2003-01-10T18:18:57Z")
Most people aren’t Atkins dieters **k2dave**. Bad for a particular diet is one thing. Bad for you in general is another. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-unhealthy-wtf/147641/29 "2003-01-10T19:34:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > \*\*There’s no such thing as healthy or unhealthy foods; _ **diets and eating habits** _ can be unhealthy, but any food can be incorporated into a healthy balanced diet. \*\* Perfectly explained. A Potato is a complex carbohydrate, aka a complex sugar, aka a starch, and they are on any Atkin’s diet hit list. To an Atkin’s advocate, a potato would be “bad for you”. I’m anti-Atkins myself. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-unhealthy-wtf/147641/30 "2003-01-10T21:35:49Z")
I’m with Agback on this one (except for the Ozzie spelling). The latest diet fad is glycemic index, which is, IIUC, the rate at which it turns to sugar and elevates the blood sugar. White and whole wheat breads supposedly differ greatly in glycemic index, for example. And it is claimed that potatoes have a higher GI than white sugar! Although it seems unlikely to me. As for things like fruit, they are supposedly intermediate. But I think these things are exaggerated. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-unhealthy-wtf/147641/31 "2003-01-10T21:44:36Z")
Yes I know **In Conceivable** but it is a possible answer to the OP, perhaps you have an answer to the OP as well? ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-unhealthy-wtf/147641/32 "2003-01-10T22:18:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Agback \* > \*\*. . .olive oil contains a high proportion of linoleic acid, which is a precursor to Series I eiconsanoids. If this explanation turns out to be correct, canola oil will turn out to be so bad for you that the FDA will probably ban its use in food. Soyabean oil may suffer the same fate. . . .There are several diets that are popular right now that are based on eating. . .all the fat you want, so long as you avoid canola and soyabean oil, and cook only in olive oil or saturated fats. \*\* This sounds different than any theory I’ve ever heard. I didn’t follow the chain of reasoning that concludes that canola oil and soybean oil are bad. And what is good about saturated fats? There’s a [pretty good article](http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?colID=1&articleID=0007C5B6-7152-1DF6-9733809EC588EEDF) in Scientific American about the new food pyramid, to replace the conventional wisdom of the FDA, where it says to take pasta and potatoes sparingly, preferring whole grains as a primary source of complex carbs. It has a good discussion of most of the points made in the above posts. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-unhealthy-wtf/147641/33 "2003-01-10T23:21:54Z")
> [@](#): > > And what is good about saturated fats? Needed for good health? again speaking from the Atkins camp here (and off the OP again), fats are an important nutrient and provide health benefits. From Dr. Atkins Age-Defying Diet Revolution (p 173): > [@](#): > > despite what the American Heart Asso… would have you believe, you need fat to live and stay healthy… To avoid issues with posting too much info, Atkins says that not on,ly is there no evidence to support saturated fat is unhealthy but there is evidence that it it healthy and has sited studies. The really unhealthy fat is trans fats. (which BTW is most likely what those fries were cooked in) The thing that continually astonishes me (to avoid ---
**Author:** ![In\_Conceivable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4bbf92/32.png) [@In\_Conceivable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Conceivable)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2003, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-unhealthy-wtf/147641/34 "2003-01-10T23:33:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by k2dave \* > \*\*Yes I know **In Conceivable** but it is a possible answer to the OP, perhaps you have an answer to the OP as well? \*\* I did answer the OP as well. Potato do not equal unhealthy. Not to the general public anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Agback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/977dab/32.png) [@Agback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agback)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-unhealthy-wtf/147641/35 "2003-01-11T01:24:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CookingWithGas \* > **This sounds different than any theory I’ve ever heard. I didn’t follow the chain of reasoning that concludes that canola oil and soybean oil are bad. And what is good about saturated fats?** Canola oil and soybean oil contain high proportions of alpha-linoleic acid, which cannot be metabolised to series I eicosanoids, and is always metabolised to series II eicosanoids. These have their place (eg. in blood clotting), but high levels cause health problems (blood clotting, vasoconstriction, immune suppression, bronchoconstriction, promoting inflamation and promoting cell proliferation). The good thing about saturated fats is that they do not transform from the ‘cis-’ configuration to the ‘trans-’ configuration when heated. ‘Trans-’ fatty acids metabolise to series II eicosanoids, and are implicated in causing cancer. So if you are frying, it is advisable either to use an unsaturated fat with a _very_ high smoke point (such as olive oil), or to use a saturated fat such as butter or lard. Regards, Agback ---
**Author:** ![Agback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/977dab/32.png) [@Agback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agback)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-unhealthy-wtf/147641/36 "2003-01-11T01:33:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by In Conceivable \* > **Potatoes are a low fat low calorie food.** Make that “low-fat _high_-calorie” and I’ll agree with you. Regards, Agback ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-unhealthy-wtf/147641/37 "2003-01-11T01:38:43Z")
> [@](#): > > Amount Per 1 medium (2-1/4" to 3" dia, raw) > > Calories 96.38 It doesn’t seem that high to me. Now add sour crream, butter, cheese & baconbits or slice it up and cook in in transfat and the calories will climb. ---
**Author:** ![mightyaphrodite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@mightyaphrodite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mightyaphrodite)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-unhealthy-wtf/147641/38 "2003-01-11T01:49:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by In Conceivable \* > \*\*Potatoes are a low fat low calorie food. They have almost 2 grams of fiber, 40% of the RDA of vitamin C and 16% of the RDA of B-6. How is that not nutritious? \*\* Because the only real healthy ways to eat them are boiled, steamed, or baked, and that’s assuming you don’t slather them in fat (butter, sour cream, margarine, etc). If you assume potatoes are healthy but don’t eat them in a healthy manner, than all potential benefit that the potato may contain are lost. For example: The average American eats 142.7 pounds of potatoes each year. That average diet is broken into the following proportions: 48.1 pounds Fresh Potatoes 58.9 pounds Frozen - French fries, hash browns, etc. 16.0 pounds Potato chips 18.0 pounds Dehydrated - mashed potato flakes, au gratin mixes, etc. 1.7 pounds Canned Only 48lb of the 142lb that an average American eats are fresh, and most of those fresh potatoes are probably cooked and then topped with some sort of high calorie topping, such as cheese, butter, margarine, sour cream or oil. Any nutritional benefit that was reaped has now been outdone by the fat in the blood system. Much of a nutritional value of a food isn’t the base value of the produce itself, it’s how we eat it. ---
**Author:** ![mightyaphrodite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@mightyaphrodite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mightyaphrodite)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-unhealthy-wtf/147641/39 "2003-01-11T01:52:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by k2dave \* > \*\*It doesn’t seem that high to me. Now add sour crream, butter, cheese & baconbits or slice it up and cook in in transfat and the calories will climb. \*\* Yeah, but there’s 100 cal for ever 148g of potato. That’s only about 5 oz (weight). That is not high with respect to meat products or by-products, but that is a lot in comparison to other vegetables. For example, one cup of spinach or lettuce has only 10 calories. ---
**Author:** ![In\_Conceivable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4bbf92/32.png) [@In\_Conceivable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Conceivable)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2003, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-unhealthy-wtf/147641/40 "2003-01-11T01:52:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Agback \* > \*\*Make that “low-fat _high_-calorie” and I’ll agree with you. > > Regards, > Agback \*\* High calorie? What do you consider high vs. low calorie food? \*\* mightyaphrodite\*\*, I agree with you that the way you cook a potato is important. I personally can’t see why anyone ever puts anything on a baked potato other then salt and pepper. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-unhealthy-wtf/147641.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potato-unhealthy-wtf/147641.md?page=3)