Thank God For Prince Edward Island Potatoes

By Dr. W. Gifford Jones

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Hell will freeze over before I stop eating Prince Edward Island potatoes. I admit I love, love potatoes. Any kind, any way! But this isn't just an irrational addiction on my part. Rather, the lowly and much maligned potato has great nutritional value. Some of my patients say they avoid them like the plague. It's all because of the recent hulabaloo about the so-called virtues of a "low-carb" diet.

Since potatoes were imported to Europe from Central and South America several hundred years ago they've provided safe and cheap nutrition for millions of people. But what a difference a few centuries make.

Self-promoting hucksters, whose primary interest is to sell books, have tried to fool people about "low-carb" and potatoes. It's interesting to speculate how long it would have taken the Irish to lynch them during the Irish Potato Famine in the 1840s!

It's surprising what this ubiquitous and unassuming tuber contains. The amount of potassium in a single unpeeled potato beats all other vegetables, providing 800 milligrams (mg). This is 40 percent more than a banana.

Dr. Young, Professor of Physiology at the University of Mississippi, states that adequate amounts of potassium are essential for the cardiovascular system. And that the potassium in potatoes is "like sex and money. You can never get too much!"

Potassium is a potent substance. We know that heart attack and stroke are often due to the formation of blood clots in the blood stream. Potassium helps to reduce this risk. Researchers have also proven that blood pressure will rise by simply restricting potassium intake for a little as 10 days.

Potatoes are also a good source of vitamin C, B6, thiamin, niacin, folic acid, riboflavin, iron, protein, magnesium and dietary fiber. And they contain no fat or cholesterol and only small amounts of sodium.

Like other colourful vegetables, rich hued potatoes provide carotenoids such as lutein and zeaxanthin which protect and preserve eyesight.

There's a popular notion that the majority of nutrients are in the skin and not in the potato itself. This is not the case. However leaving the skin on the potato retains all its nutrients.

The U.S Academy of Sciences estimates that we need somewhere between 1,875 to 5,635 mg of potassium daily and that most North Americans get only half the potassium they require.

Despite all the media hype, scientific evidence indicates that potatoes, when consumed in normal amounts, and other carbohydrates do not cause weight gain, heart disease, or diabetes. Besides, carbohydrates are the body's primary source of fuel.

Some studies have given potatoes, unjustly, a bad reputation by linking them to a high glycemic index (GI). This is a measure of how rapidly carbohydrates cause blood sugar to rise. The theory is that a high GI index is associated with increased risk of obesity and diabetes.

But according to the University of California, this case has never been proven. Besides, potatoes are usually eaten with other foods which decreases the rate of absorption and lowers the GI. And never forget it's not a high glycemic index, potatoes or any other food that cause weight gain. It's the number of calories consumed from all foods.

So don't blame PEI potatoes if you're gaining weight. A five ounce baked potato provides just 135 calories. But if you add two tablespoons (tbsp) of butter this increases to 335 calories. Add another three tbsp of sour cream and you're up to 425 calories. Five ounces of fast-food french fries are 435 calories, and the same amount of potato chips reaches 750 calories!

Fortunately today there are many ways to enjoy PEI potatoes without excess calories. For instance, you can mix mashed potatoes (homemade or dehydrated) with skim milk, low-fat milk, a small amount of butter, margarine or try a powdered butter substitute.

If you're preparing potato salad cut the calories in several ways. Flavoured vinegar, prepared mustard and a sprinkling of herbs will add spice to the taste buds. The addition of carrots, peppers, apples or celery creates a healthy meal in itself.

You may have guessed by this point that there's rarely an evening that I don't have potatoes. Today I simply can't imagine a world without them. So I repent all my sins and, please God, spare me and Prince Edward Island from a potato famine.

W. Gifford-Jones M.D is the pen name of Dr. Ken Walker graduate of Harvard. Dr. Walker's website is: Docgiff.com

My book, �90 + How I Got There� can be obtained by sending $19.95 to:

Giff Holdings, 525 Balliol St, Unit # 6,Toronto, Ontario, M4S 1E1

Pre-2008 articles by Gifford Jones

Canada Free Press, CFP Editor Judi McLeod