From the Food Chemistry journal, "Evaluation of nutritional profiles of starch and dry matter from early potato varieties and its estimated glycemic impact" (Pinhero et al, 2016). It's still in draft, but I managed to sneak a few tidbits out for you.
Several studies reported that potatoes generally have medium to high GI, which has often adversely affected their consumption, but have overlooked the many nutritional and health benefits of potatoes.
Post moved to www.potatohack.com!
Love this post and very timely with what I have been doing lately. I read somewhere a while back that a group of German soldiers at the end of WWII found themselves in a situation where they had nothing but raw potatoes to eat for several weeks. It seems they were cured or greatly improved of several physical issues including digestive disorders. I also recall reading one of Norman Walkers juicing books wherein raw potato juice was proclaimed particularly healing in nature. Fast forward to a few days ago when I am catching up on your posts and those over at FTA and I decided to try something. I cut up a raw potato (red for now)put it in my Vitamix, add about 4oz water and voila instant potato smoothie. I don't find the taste objectionable and I do find it is particularly satisfying; it "feels" good though I know that is very subjective. I get the value of the raw potato juice, the RS and the fiber all in less than 2 minutes prep time. I wonder if anyone else has done this?
ReplyDeleteRaw potatoes and potato juice are superfoods, but more have the reputation of being poisonous. If there is any green, don't eat it, but otherwise they are fine. Perfect for supplemental fiber, but they would make a pretty unpopular dinner item, lol
DeleteRaw potato in a smoothie is a perfect idea, I've heard lots of people say they do it, and also raw potato starch. Just look at the charts! 100g of potato, a pretty small potato, has 50 grams of RS. When cooked/cooled, only 2-3%. This was the biggest problem I saw 5 years ago when I was looking at RS. The studies used RPS, the newspaper articles talked about potato salad. Big difference!
I have been promoting Raw Potato in Juice form for years! (since 2010). From my website:
DeleteThe need for foods high in Fibre
How to heal and prevent Bowel disorders
Diet is not about what you should NOT eat, it’s about what you should include in the diet that matters.
As long as your diet includes the correct balance of plant foods containing soluble fibre, insoluble fibre and resistant starch your colon will produce the perfectly formed stool. The important next step is to evacuate this stool without straining so that the body does not suffer from the pressures created each time the bowel is emptied.
In order to heal and prevent bowel disorders you need to make lifestyle changes that last the rest of your life time.
1. Include more fluids and plant food containing soluble fibre, insoluble fibre and resistant starch in the diet so that the perfectly formed stool will be made in the colon and beneficial bacteria will flourish and eliminate disease causing bacteria and fungi.
2. Evacuate the perfectly formed stool by adopting the squat posture to eliminate the need to strain during bowel movements.
It is not possible or safe to squat on the modern raised toilet seat installed in all western homes and it is impossible to squat for any length of time if you have not done this from childhood onwards. This makes the use of any raised platforms impossible to adapt to.
The SquattLooStool is designed to allow you to adopt the squat posture while seated comfortably on your raised toilet seat. The single best and easiest lifestyle change you will ever make, leading to a healthier body.
The ingredients necessary for the formation of the perfectly formed stool are a combination of Soluble and insoluble fibre in addition to your normal diet.
A suggested recipe that will help make a well formed stool and provide food for the friendly Bacteria in the Colon, allowing the local production of the health providing Butyric acid.
One RAW Potato............ wash, peel and dice the potato, make sure there are no GREEN or BLACK spots on the potato. You only need the white or yellow flesh. CHOOSE A HIGH STARCH CONTENT OR FLOURY POTATO FOR BEST RESULTS.
One RAW Carrot peeled and diced
One Apple washed and diced (no need to peel)
One Beet Root, diced (not pickled—avoids Vinegar)
One small piece of Ginger root or half a teaspoonful of dried Ginger powder
Half a Lemon (peeled)
Half a Lime (peeled)
Liquidize the ingredients in a food processor. Add water or Fruit juice to thin down into a juice.
Drink one large Glassful daily.
This Raw Vegetable juice will introduce soluble fibre, Insoluble fibre and Resistant Starch without much effort into your diet and provide the ingredients that will lead to a healthier Colon.
Colon healthy optional extras you can add to the juice to fortify it with other health providing ingredients.
One tablespoon of Barley malt extract
One tablespoon of Inulin powder
One tablespoon of cracked Flax or Linseeds
One tablespoon of Chia seeds
One teaspoon of Basil seed
One tablespoon of Raw Potato Starch
Always add these ingredients to the COLD juice or Water.
Heat will destroy the health providing starch and fibre ingredients of the chosen materials.
Thanks Ashwin! Sorry you had to write that out twice, it went into the spam folder. This is the kind of spam I like, though.
DeleteThis is great stuff!
Tim
Ashwin, I bought a Squatty Potty several years ago. Thereare periods that I use it regularly and others I don't. I should make a more concerted effort, because I do notice that it helps. Sometimes I don't get the opportunity to use it as the stool comes out too fast.
DeleteI will try your potato juice and see if it helps, as my stool consistency differs greatly from loose to very hard.
Jo tB
I tried one this afternoon. I think I put in too much fresh ginger as it was VERY overpowering 2,5 cm). I think I need to halve the quantities as I had far too much juice.
DeleteBut I couldn't taste the raw potato at all. So very nice. And I forgot the beetroot. It still tasted quite nice due to the carot and apple.
Jo tB
Tim,
DeleteIs there a difference between the RS in raw potatoes vs. cooked/cooled potatoes? I remember raw is rs2 and cooked/cooled is rs3, right? Is there any benefit of one over the other?
Sorry, obviously in need of a refresher, but the RPS (powder), that's rs2, correct? So is there benefit of the rs2 in the raw potato vs. taking the powder (w/ or w/o fibrous foods)?
DeleteIt makes little difference to the bacteria in your gut, but they want/need lots of fiber. It's hard to get much (ie. 10 grams) in a day of eating cooked and cooled potatoes, unless you are eating JUST potatoes as in the potato hack. You can get 10grams from just a few bites of raw potato or a spoonful of potato starch.
DeleteBut as others said, you can't really eat raw potatoes day in and day out. So, to play the system, cook and cool most of the potatoes you eat and have a slice or two of raw potato when you cook. Or, just have a couple spoonfuls of potato starch on the days when you really don't eat much fiber.
Tim,
Deleteit seems that the 50% ratio of RS in uncooked potatoes is based on dry matter. For a 100g potato, dry matter is only about 20%, that is 20g, and the rest is water. That would mean that such a potato only contains 10g of RS, not 50g. That's quite a difference. Am I mistaken here?
It would not be the first time I've gotten the math wrong! Let's see. I'm not sure what I said, but yes, you are correct. These graphs are based on DM. A 100g potato would have 20g DM (dry matter). The DM composed of ~70% RS2, or 14g per 100g potato. Does that look right?
DeleteI think in the book, I used a "1 pound" potato to come up with what I used there. A one-pounder having approx 60-70g of RS2.
And to show that 60-70g per pound is accurate, I have made potato starch in my Jack LaLanne juicer, and can easily get 50g out of a pound of potatoes.
So, now I have to search this blog for what I said and make corrections.
Thanks!
So, looking through the book...I see in the potato starch chapter, I said: "A raw potato is about 20% starch by weight. A regular-sized potato (~1/2 pound) will yield about 40 grams of potato starch."
DeleteI remember now this 20% starch per raw (wet) potato. If you look at websites and papers on potato starch manufacturing, you will find that potatoes straight from the field, have about 15-24% extractable starch. So, I always tried to use 20% of a raw potato being RS2.
Tim,
Deletesince the above study states that only 50% of starch is RS2 and starch amounts to 20% of a raw wet potato, then the correct number to use to estimate the amount of RS2 is 10% of a raw wet potato, only half the percentage you previously estimated. Unless, of course, the methodology used in the study is flawed and grossly understimates the amount of RS. What is your take on this? I am confused!
Your comments go straight to my spam folder. I assure you that is not intentional! If I had a macro that could spam any questions about my math, I already would have one!
DeleteI'm seeing some problems, I'll try to explain.
A raw fresh potato has 20% TS (total starch)
Potato starch is usually said to be 75% by weight of TS. But 50-80% is the normal range you see in papers.
So where does that put us?
50% of 20g would be 10g
75% of 20g would be 15g
So, 10-15g per 100g potato or 45-65g per pound (454g)
And notice, in the book passage I quoted above, I said, "A regular-sized potato (~1/2 pound) will yield about 40 grams of potato starch."
That was talking about the TS not the RS.
Great observations! I need to be able to explain this stuff, or make corrections.
If you get the book, you'll see a whole big section talking about how difficult it is to measure RS in foods!
And that proves what you are saying, an easy way to remember is 10% of the weight of a raw potato will be it's (lower end) RS2 weight.
Potatoes = sugar. See you in the morgue!
ReplyDelete:)
hahahaha
DeleteTim, I've been following you and Richard, on and off, for a couple of years. I have to say when Richard stopped posting interesting n=1 experiments, with the huge number of comments, I sort of lost interest. I'm glad you have taken up the baton, as it were, in your own blog. This article is very interesting. The one you posted previously summarizing the research on different potatoes was really interesting, too. Unfortunately, I don't see the specific varieties I buy listed. And, in fact, the bags of potatoes don't always say, either. My favorite for at least the last 5 years has been Yukon Golds or any other variety of yellow potato. The last article you posted, when I went to read some of your linked info, implied that people roast mainly russets. Ugh! I LOVE baked Golds! It's precisely because they are moister and not mealy, that I like them so much! I don't have to slather them in butter just to get them down. In fact, I can eat them just plain. I'm glad to see that the yellow potatoes compare favorably with other potatoes for resistant starch and total starch. I grew up eating mainly red potatoes. They were good, but not as good tasting to me as yellow potatoes. We also make our mashed potatoes out of yellow potatoes. They whip up nicely, IMHO. My sons make homemade baked without oil fries out of russets, but yellow potatoes work just as well. I know people will have their own preferences, and I respect that. But give me a bag of gold potatoes any day! I'm planning to do a few days of hacking next week. I love being able to get affordable organic potatoes at Trader Joe's, in yellow or russets.
ReplyDeleteSally
I know what you mean. Only a few of these varieties are even in my seed catalog. I usually plant Yukon golds and Norland reds. Looking at these charts, Norland is a great performer in the RS category, so that made me feel good, lol.
DeleteI'd love to see where Yukon Golds stand. But you are on the right track. Make potatoes a solid part of your eating, stay away from French fries and chips. Eat a slice raw to make up for any small differences in fiber or RS.
Ditto. Around here there's bags of Yukon Gold, Russet, White potatoes, Red potatoes... then there's purple potatoes and 'organic' whatnot potatoes. But there's no 'names' to tell what'variety' they are. Basically, we have 'no name' potatoes. :(
DeleteThe bags have origin, as in Prince Edward Island, Ontario, USA potatoes are mostly the loose ones, and the other day I bought a bag of 'Atlantic region Russets'... prolly New Brunswick and these ARE good!
Great stuff, thanks Tim. So, roughly 20 times the resistant starch and 10 times the fiber in raw vs. cooked. Any idea as to the how the GI compares in raw vs. cooked? Are there other known drawbacks or advantages to eating potatoes raw?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jeff. Is this the "Jeff" that sent me the paper? I'll put those charts in the main post now.
DeleteI have not seen any drawbacks except the chance of getting poisoned from a green potato. But even then, I've heard you'd have to eat like 2 full pounds of fully green potatoes before you were sick enough to require a trip to the hospital. Advantages are many: fiber, RS, and whatever else is lost through cooking i.e. vitamins and minerals. But, let's be honest, no one is going to eat a lot of raw potatoes.
Thanks again, Tim, I'm not the Jeff that sent the paper. Long time follower of your blog but first time posting, keep up the great work it is very appreciated.
DeleteNo problem! The charts are in now. A slight drop when cooled. And a HUGE jump from raw to cooked/cooled.
DeleteYou COULD eat a large amount of raw potatoes by liquefying them in a blender first...
DeleteTim,
ReplyDeleteRaw Potato Juice is always an option,especially if other Raw vegetables are added as in my recipe.
Another option is to ask your Doc for ACARBOSE. Resistant Starch content of cooked potatoes is not important if you take ACARBOSE ! Lods of RS3 for your friendly Gut bugs!
Thanks for the great advice, as always. Is Acarbose by Rx only? Not a great deal written about it. I have not looked carefully into acarbose, but if you are a fan, maybe I should.
DeleteIt doesn't hardly seem worth cooling the potatoes, does it?
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same thing...then it dawned on me. There's a big problem with RS testing! A giant bag of Elodea to the first reader to identify the problem:
Delete"One hundred grams of each of uncooked, cooked, and retrograded samples were freeze dried. The freeze dried samples were ground using a coffee grinder, passed through a 250Ī¼m sieve, and kept in air-tight plastic bags at room temperature until use for various analyses. These samples were then used for all analyses."
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThe cooked potatoes had a chance to retrograde during the testing?
Deleteding, ding, ding!
DeleteLook back at the charts, the "cooked" potatoes are actually cooked and cooled, the "cooled" potatoes are actually cooked, cooled, re-cooled.
I think in actuality, the cooked potatoes would have an RS content of less than 1% across the board. Every cycle of cooling causes more retrogradation and more RS3 to form.
Using standard testing that involves freeze-drying the sample will never tell you how much RS is in a hot sample, freshly cooked.
ACARBOSE is Rx only. Need to be under Doctors supervision. I have been "experimenting" for the last 3 years. It's worh a study! I have my British Gut (American Gut) results. I'll send you the details for your view on them.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see them! We can stick the raw data in MG-Rast if you like to get a really good look. akman2014 @ live.com
DeleteFor newcomers there is a discussion on ACARBOSE here:
Deletehttp://vegetablepharm.blogspot.ie/2014/11/off-label-drug-use.html
Curious as you say you have been experimenting for 3 years. Do you mean doing the potato hack alongside with acarbose? Did taking it lessen the effects of the hack? I take Metformin and I'm not sure if that will have impact on effectiveness of the hack. I wouldn't have a problem getting an rx for acarbose but as a LCer I've never had a need to. So much to ponder on....
DeleteACARBOSE blocks the action of Enzymes responsible for digestion of Starch in the small intestine. Cooked potatoes contain Digestible Starch and RS3. If you prevent the digestion of Starch, more of it arrives in the large intestine where it is Fermented into Short Chain Fatty acids. This is what the potato hack is all about. ACARBOSE enhances the Potato Hack.
DeleteThanks Ashwin, I will see Dr and discuss. I was a fat pre-diab with MetSyn and strong family history; watched my mum decline for many years; horrible. I lost a shedload of weight and went LC but am finding my BS wonky and a slight rise in my A1c; normal but at the upper end (physiological IR?). I battle with hunger and constant weight regain and I am hoping the potatoes can help with this. I don’t really need Metformin and probably don’t take enough of it for any therapeutic value; I just like the robust studies behind the anti-cancer effects but I will replace the Met with Acarb for the purpose of the hack maybe, if Dr is ok, although heck he’s not much help at all.
DeleteTim, I will get your book for sure..it’s on my list along with Stephan and Lyle’s upcoming books, but I’m too impatient to wait for book to start the PH. I’m psyched up for and will start next week. I went to the farmers market today and got some nice fresh red royals, Nicolas and dutch creams; I didn’t get many and heck it was $20; I thought taters were cheap, it will be the supermarket ones from now on. I don’t plan on eating the skins anyway. I plan on going for a week but may throw some meat in on the last weekend for lunch; keeping a good few hours between the taters and meat. Will report back next week. Thank you Tim. I grew up on potatoes; haven’t had them in years. My favourite meal would be hot fried double chips English style with crispy potato cakes if I could eat anything.
Rose
"I grew up on potatoes; haven’t had them in years."
DeleteI fell into the same trap. A big problem is that the potato is an easily identified "carb." Potatoes are good food, and need not be avoided, except for French Fries and potato chips. But even these can be prepared in a way to make them healthier than what you get from McDonald's or Lay's.
Ashwin and Tim, I wrote the original reply about raw potato smoothies above (and this is my only other comment. I know there are several Anonymous here). If I am reading this converation correctly, the purpose of Acarbose is necessitated only by the digestible starch found in cooked potatoes. If one eats raw potatoes instead of cooked, is Acarbose of any other use? Or am I missing something?
DeleteCharles
Charles - You are mostly correct in your assumptions. Acarbose blocks a starch digesting enzyme in humans. This same "carb blocker" is found in white beans and some other plants.
DeleteIf you have issues with blood sugar stability, acarbose works by turning your diet into one of high "net" fiber, lowering the glycemic impact of meals. It would essentially be the same as eating all your starches as raw potatoes.
There are probably some drawbacks to eating nothing but raw potatoes, and some advantages to taking a starch blocker such as acarbose. The biggest advantage is that you will get more nutrition from a cooked potato. You'd probably starve to death if all you ate was raw potatoes.
Acarbose is more similar to eating nothing but cooked and cooled potatoes with a slice or two raw, just as I have been advocating for years now. Or eating overall less starchy food and taking a couple spoonfuls of raw potato starch.
I think that the starch blockers have a negative impact if they make people eat more starchy junk food like potato chips and white bread than they normally would.
Won't it be nice when there are abundant tables put together for RS in foods? You'll look at all the old tables you pieced together from dozens of sources, and just shake your head, remembering all the tedious work you did on those!
ReplyDeleteYes it will! There is a big problem though. The test method for testing RS in cooked foods involves freeze-drying a sample. This retrogrades the sample. Testing RS in freshly cooked foods is only possible through ileostomy studies.
DeleteThat is a problem. I think you pointed that out above but I was speed-reading. Well, maybe they'll find a different way some day.
DeleteThought you might like to read this report!! It extols the benefits of our spud...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3189454/The-secret-man-s-intelligence-POTATOES-Humans-evolved-large-brains-ancestors-ate-starchy-carbohydrates.html
Jo tB
Yep! Starches are credited with making us big-brained critters. Tiger Nuts and Yams, particularly. Did the authors of this not realize that potatoes have only been part of the human diet for approx 8000 years?
Delete"The human brain is unique - no other animal possesses such a large brain relative to the size of its body.
It has been argued that an increase in meat consumption could have triggered the increase in size, but now scientists believe that we may have another food to thank: the humble potato.
Researchers suggest carbohydrate consumption, particularly in the form of starch, was critical for the extraordinary development of the brain over the past million years."
It's a mystery because chimps that eat mostly plant based diet with the odd monkey thrown in for variety, have large canines. Large canines direct the movement of the mandible to a chopping motion as opposed to a grinding motion (as evidenced in cows, sheep, etc.) Humans and their alleged ancestors lost their large canines rather early in evolution. Chimps therefore are not dentally adapted to eating vegetation since they are not grinding. They are chopping. Maybe that's why they spend hours and hours every day chewing. Chopping movements on vegetation is not terribly efficient.
DeleteChopping or cutting up food is prevalent in carnivores. Dogs are omnivores and retain their 'canine guidance'... Their molars (as in cats) intercuspate in such a way that they can tear up meat.
Tim, the humble potato was only available in South America. Other root tubers were available in Africa. Root tubers in the form of Sagittaria were available to riparious populations. Lotus root etc. was available in Asia. But by the time these people got there, there was already a change. I.e. Homo as opposed to other options.
Probably it's both starch and meat that helped to eventually select for individuals with larger brains, smaller jaws, and etc.
What makes me wonder about genetics and dentition is both my parents had 4 wisdom teeth. My brother had 4. I have zero. The father of my children had all 4. One of my kids had zero and one had one. Somehow there's a genetically dominant trait to 'lose' teeth. So as jaw size decreased with evolution, even though it may seem 'how the heck did the ones with smaller jaws survive'? Possibly it is a genetically dominant situation.
Michael Pollan says cooking is what turned us into humans. His series "Cooked" is on Netflix, it's pretty interesting.
DeleteInteresting timing. I've recently starting treating my spuds like a vegetable... minimally stir frying in butter or lard, so they are only slightly cooked and mostly raw and still pretty crunchy. I use a slicer to cut them in thin strips. I like the texture and chewy-ness and feel good that undercooking also preserves more of the nutrients like Vitamin-C which is heat sensitive.
ReplyDeleteBtw, I think this works well for people who opt to eating low carb while not starving gut bugs of prebiotics.
DeleteI agree. My next blog post will be about the Acarbose that Ashwin was talking about. In a paper he shared, they discuss simply eating undercooked starches to mimic the effect of a drug.
DeleteI made some hash browns the other day, shredded a potato, cooked one side pretty hot until it started to brown, flipped and just cooked the other side a minute or two. When I ate them, the inside of the pile was still raw, it was actually a better texture than my normal method of letting them cook until soft and gummy all the way through.
Tim, We ran into Dale at Krogers yesterday. This is the guy who grew up eating potatoes fried in bacon grease. He is looking healthy these days...probably a result of all those potatoes!
DeleteAre you including anything about potato starch in your book?
And one more question Have you heard of Ezekiel 4.9 bread? It's available here now in the frozen healthfood case at Krogers. Tried the 7 Sprouted Grain loaf. No flour in it. Not sure about it--- maybe it's an acquired taste!
Chilly and rainy in Ohio today.
Me thinks someone should be calling their mum more often! Shame on you, Tim. Shame.
DeleteHi, Mum!
DeleteA whole chapter on potato starch. I've tried the Ezekial Bread and really like it. We also get Dave's Killer Bread sometimes.
But I have been making my own bread lately from a sourdough starter I keep in the fridge. I use Whole Grain Spelt Flour, it turns out really nice. Even makes good sandwiches and awesome pizza dough.
I think Ezekiel Bread is an acquired taste. I wanted to like it, but I never got beyond that first piece. Irish soda bread disappears quickly.
DeleteI do NOT miss the weather in Ohio.
Barney
haha, I moved to frikkin' Alaska to get away from those brutal Ohio winters! Of course when I grew up, they kept the house about 40 degrees and never gave us blankets.
DeleteBet you had to walk to school in bare feet, too - up hill both ways!
Deletewith baked potatoes in his pockets to keep his hands warm. And then he'd eat them for breakfast once he got to school.
DeleteI got hooked on raw potatoes after my second or third, now I look forward to the next one! One small with lunch, one with dinner. Almond potatoes are the best imho.
Deletesparris, what on earth are 'almond potatoes'?
DeleteGabriella-sorry, I just translated 'mandelpotatis' straight from Swedish. They're a type of fingerling from what I can gather, mostly grown in the northern parts of the country and considered a delicacy.
DeleteI come from an Eastern European background. The elders ate potatoes, potatoes and potatoes as main dish with fresh veggies, beans and meat on the side. Lots of lard and bacon (schmaltz). I barely remember a healthy one, all were overweight, some had early heart disease ie literally dropped dead, fatty livers etc, but not much cancer. They also drank and smoked heavily, so who knows. Anyway I guess that's why I have spent many years fearing the humble old tater. Rose
ReplyDeleteFear the booze, not the spuds.
DeleteTim,
ReplyDeleteI found a fantastic way to add raw potatoes in is to cube them up and throw them in a mason jar with apple cider vinegar. (The second time I added salt and garlic.)
Not sure if it affects starches or fibers but it sure ends up tasty! You get a nice crunch and a salty tanginess that is nice when you're in the mood for a salty snack.
Sure! Why not? Sounds great. I've never heard of raw potato pickles, but I see no reason they would not be very popular. There are dozens of dill pickle flavored potato chips. These look like pickles made of raw potatoes, but simply soaking in vinegar is a great way to make small batches of pickles. Good idea! I will try.
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kpy1kz_zv68
Here ya go: Almost exactly what you describe - http://adventuresinyum.com/2012/05/30/refrigerator-pickled-potatoes/
DeleteYep, that's exactly it! I need to put in another batch of these and maybe play with some different spices.
DeleteTim, I hope that I'm the first to alert you to this. This is funny -" the stupidest idea ever" - Potato Parcel.
ReplyDeletehttp://qz.com/637716/a-business-that-sends-engraved-potatoes-makes-25000-a-month-and-is-inspiring-copycats/
I just came across a video with German sub titels, so I looked up the original on You Tube. There are 2.
ReplyDeleteHe ate 20 potatoes a day for 60 days !! Our favourite food in the title role.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=146S3h6BMqQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcx8s6OqPRE
Jo tB
Sure! Chris Voigt was one of the initial reasons for me trying the potato diet.
DeleteThe irony is Voigt was not eating 20 potatoes a day. He was eating Russets which are about 250 grams each, give or take 50 grams. Which means he was eating about 5 per day at the beginning (1600 kcal) and losing weight too fast. Then he forced himself to eat more (2200 kcal) and was still losing but slower. So he lost 21 pounds in 60 days. Potato is 1 kcal per gram. Add on the approx. 100 kcal of oil/butter he used.
DeleteOf course with cooked and cooled and retrograded starch, there's a percentage of resistant starch and bacteria digest that but we benefit through absorption of fatty acids. But I think it makes sense to just ignore whatever number of kcal the bacteria use up in metabolism/reproduction and assume that a 300 gram potato = 300 kcal.
He was eating about 4 pounds +/- 0.5 pound per day after he started to force himself to eat past fullness.
Oh yes, potatos cause extreme tiredness for me. That's why I really avoid eating them!
ReplyDeleteGoing to IKEA gives me extreme tiredness. Potatoes are fine. ;)
DeleteMost people never really eat potatoes, they eat butter, sour cream and bacon on a bed of potato. Try eating a big, plain potato.
DeleteDoes this make some people sick?
ReplyDeleteResistant starch? "Sick" can be objective. If by "sick" you mean really awesome and cool, like my sick new tennis shoes, then yes...it makes people sick.
DeleteOK, bad joke.
Resistant Starch can lead to flatulence and bloating, but that's a reaction of gut bacteria and is easily managed by starting slow. I have never heard of anyone getting sick from RS.
LOL... By sick I mean a dry mouth and funny taste. Also, absolutely no appetite. This happened after consuming cooked and cooled five pounds of mashed potatoes over a three day period. I had the same reaction to potatoe starch last year.
ReplyDeleteI just saw your response over at FTA. Any suggestions for how to manage this? The somewhat chemical taste is really strong. I don't remember these reactions from LC ketosis 20 years ago. Guess I should grab some keto stix.
Delete5 pounds over 3 days, is that correct? Like less than 1.5 pounds per day? That's not much to eat! But if you can do it, why not? People fast for longer with nothing to eat.
DeleteWhat was the end result of 5 pounds over 3 days? I think sometimes these shorter, more hardcore hacks are better than long, drawn out affairs where you try to eat just potatoes for weeks on end and see diminishing returns as you start to cheat a bit.
If you have trouble maintaining your weight, or are trying to lose 10 pounds or so, a 3 day hack at the start of every month usually aids tremendously. Look at it as a "reset" for the month.
The first day and a half I was very hungry but then it was almost like it began to work too well. I was even eating a tablespoon of grass-fed butter in each bowl of potatoes. Nothing has eliminated hunger to this extent. I just wanted to make sure that what I experienced was not related to bad bacteria die-off or something.
ReplyDeleteI've heard so many times, "For the first time in my life, I was not hungry..."
DeleteI think there are a huge number of people who start each day with good intentions to eat only whole, real foods and in limited quantities. This effort stops as soon as they eat their first bite of food. Brain waves take over and you are led down a path of seeking food and failing to be full all day long. Around noon, they say, "Screw it, I'll do better tomorrow," but never do.
With the potato hack, there is no give and take. You eat potatoes. Full stop. Period.
Well, some people add a 'spoonful of butter.' What's that all about? That was your inner demon trying to sabotage the plan, lol.
The first rule of Potato Hack Club: If you put something in your mouth that's not a potato, you are doing it wrong!
Tim, what are your thoughts on these new low carb low GI potatoes that are appearing in stores? Would they work or is the HC High GI part of the effectiveness of the PH?
ReplyDeleteRose
Low carb potatoes? What a world...
DeleteGemma, Whole Foods (aka whole paycheque) is selling pre-peeled oranges and peeled avocados. Among other things. So low carb potatoes don't surprise me. What's the point eh?
DeleteRose, what a great question! I have not looked into low carb potatoes at all, I assumed they were a GMO breed designed to have more of a certain starch or something, but it turns out they are just a product of breeding.
DeleteI added two new charts to the blog post above (last 2 charts) "Available Carbs in Potato" You'll notice that the range in the first chart goes from 68% to 82%. These "low carb" potatoes you have been seeing are just potatoes that have lower natural carb content.
But also notice the second chart. Cooling your potatoes overnight before eating them (reheating is OK), will reduce the carb content even more. The range is now 55-82%.
I suspect that simply by pre-cooking most of the potatoes you eat, you will be getting less carbs than what "low carb" potatoes provide. The added bonus is more resistant starch.
One thing that perplexes me, a couple of the potato breeds shown in the chart actually increased carb content by cooling. The very first one, "Adora," for instance.
This tells me that it will be very hard to know exactly what you are getting at the supermarket when you buy potatoes. That said, all potatoes supply a good dose of fiber and RS, so there really are no "bad" choices.
As to "low carb" potatoes, they are undoubtedly not worth the extra money they cost, but if they are the same price, I'd buy them if you like the way they taste.
You can make just about any potato "low carb" by cooling it overnight. And you definitely can make any potato Very Low Carb if you only cook it partially, leaving the center still raw.
This way of cooking is described as "with a stone in the middle" and was preferred in Europe in the 1600s.
Gabriella
DeleteI was a produce department manager some 30 years ago. Things like pre peeled oranges or peeled avocados are fruits gone bad. Half an orange is moldy? Half an avocado got squished in the box? Sell the other half AT A PREMIUM as convenience food.
Not a real issue I guess, but realize it's probably not washed. And it is usually sold at a premium.
Here's a Low Carb Potato called Carisma from Australia. http://www.carismapotatoes.com.au/?p=co&s=1
DeleteHow do they recommend you cook it?
- Wash potatoes. Do not remove skins.
- Chop potatoes into 1 cm thick slices.
- Place sliced potatoes into hot (not boiling) water. Then bring water to the boil.
- Cook potatoes until 'al dente'.
- Potatoes should be firm but cooked through.
Sound familiar?
Sure does - I wonder if there is a small footnote saying "best suited for cooled potato salads to get full benefit of the lower carbs"
DeleteRose
Wilbur, thanks. I don't shop at Whole Foods. Just heard about this on the radio. I guess they are 'smart'. Customers are foolish and lazy.
DeleteGabriella - It is also sad that people will not buy produce with blemishes, whether superficial or not. It's crazy. So deviations from perfect - the slightly odd bend of a carrot - will rot on the shelf. Even knowing this, I tend to look for the perfect produce - I feel ripped off if I don't get perfection, even if it doesn't matter. That's where all those beautiful party trays of veggies or prepared raw vegetables come from. The ugly parts get cut out. They are always more expensive than if you made them yourself. But it's win-win - convenience and margin protection.
DeleteOh, and anything packaged by the produce department, like okra in shrink-wrap, will have the blemishes strategically hidden.
Wilbur - those perfectly straight organic carrots we get in the major stores scare the hell out of me. 30 years ago (when organic produce was something you only found at Saturday food co-ops in the parking lot of the Waldorf school) all carrots were crooked, all cabbages had holes, the beans were all different sizes. Ah, the good old days!
DeleteOh my goodness, just tried some Midnight something potatoes, small with purple skins and deep purple flesh..so delicious and the texture is floury. I only bought a few to try so I rang the organic store that I bought them from and to save me a whole pile for pick-up tomorrow and I will be extending my hack.
ReplyDeleteRose
Remember "weeding, seeding, feeding?" Just wondering how important all three steps are.
ReplyDeleteWeeding - Tim, did you do any intentional weeding? Or, in retrospect, can you pinpoint any foods, herbs, etc. that you were incorporating in your diet that would have accomplished this function even if unintentional at the time? (Thinking Wilbur and his garlic, Ashwin and his comments about neem, amla, turmeric, etc.)
Seeding - Still think this plays a necessary role for most people?
Feeding - Is it possible to just start very slowly adding resistant starch/fiber and push through any uncomfortable issues? Is it possible that the good microbes could begin to increase in number and overwhelm the bad over time? Or is it still the best idea to incorporate some kind of foods/herbs that are antimicrobial on a regular basis? Just wondering your thoughts after the last few years of you looking into all of this. Insights would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Fay
Fay, I'm jumping in here, sorry. Last time I took an antibiotic was 2010 (whooping cough, very persistent). Whatever is in the gut now is in the gut. No problemo with spuds.
DeleteWhat made me fart the light fantastic recently was some weird Polish sauerkraut mixture that contained carrot, onion, black pepper, SUGAR (disgusting), and sunflower oil. It's some combo thing the make so it's directly applied to some sort of stew. YUK! It was the damn sugar. I can eat sauerkraut stew (with pork) or soup or whatever, but it was the damn sugar that made it dirigible time. That was lunch. For supper I had a pork and kimchi stew with potato: no gas.
Came home from work now. Cooked and cooled spuds in the fridge. Am 'roasting' wedges in minimal oil. I thought, I must really be nuts. Historically, I don't even like potatoes all that much but hey, it's easy. Had breakfast at 6:30 a.m. and now it's after 5 p.m. Go figure. Spuds for breakfast (with a few other unmentionables) after 15 hours since last meal and now more damn spuds.
Fay, me too, jumping in when you asked Tim, sorry. I'm curious, what do you believe needs to be weeded out?
DeleteI used to read that site (which shall not be named) that promoted weeding, seeding and feeding and as an herbalist I was horrified - not too strong a word, I really was - by the so called 'botanicals' that woman was suggesting for 'weeding'. I shall say no more lest I begin to rant ..
If you eat onions and garlic and some spices every day there's probably little need to worry about nasties in your gut. If you do feel you have reason to be worried, you'd actually be safer discussing this with a doc than messing about with any of the 'antimicrobial' herbal concoctions that are currently out there.
Thanks for the feedback. Not trying to bring up bad blood, just using the wording as a quick way to get across what I was asking. My history includes extensive antibiotic use throughout my lifetime, and now health issues are appearing. Know better now than to go to a doctor and get yet more prescriptions for these new issues. Trying to read and study and figure a better way. I know my gut health needs to be addressed, and just wanting opinions on if a short course of antimicrobials would be helpful. Or if probiotics are necessary. Or if starting with fibers would be enough.
DeleteFay
Actually what I have learned mostly over the last couple years is that everybody is different and there are no one-size-fits-all fixes.
DeleteWeeding. Real food, including those that are known to be antimicrobial should be a daily part of everyone's diet. But not everyone can eat garlic, onions, and some of the other more powerful plants. There's all kinds of herbal teas as well that are known to displace pathogens. I'd rather see people learn to incorporate this type of food rather than mega-dosing some type of powerful medicinal plant. Dark chocolate, blueberries, honey...all good "weeders."
Seeding, I feel is unnecessary for the most part. I am convinced that most people can grow their own set of gut bugs by eating a real food diet with plenty of fiber. Maybe when starting the journey, it's wise to use some probiotic supplements, but the idea is not that these new species will become your new gut flora, but more that they will help set up a chain reaction involving your immune system and the bacteria present in and around you. Ph is super important for gut health, the gut microbes (yeast and bacteria) will create an environment that is most suitable to the most populous species, even building impenetrable biofilms. These are the really poor guts and they are hard to change over to a more friendly type. I think even that too much weeding just drives them deeper into the biofilms and gives them more resolve to cling on.
Same thing with fermented foods. They are great and should be a part of your life, but only for their health benefits, not that they will contribute much to your gut flora in way of new species.
Feeding...I'm all about that! I think people need to eat lots more fiber than they are comfortable with. 50-100g/day. Most people who think they are eating lots of fiber are only eating 20-30g per day. It's almost impossible to get enough fiber without supplementing, but it can be done if you really load up on the plants, again, eating way more than most people are comfortable with. Green bananas, raw potatoes, whole garlic cloves, bowls of beans, will help get you to a meaningful limit. A leafy salad and a piece of fruit will not.
So, what to do about the people who can't tolerate most foods, get hooked on PPIs, and have generally poor digestion? I do not know. My main goal is prevention of this, not a cure. I feel bad for those that can't tolerate the very things that will help them most. Some people have valid medical conditions that prevent them from every being "normal." Some people will always need purple pills. But some people just need to ditch the junk food and start eating real food.
Thanks for the great question!
Tim, you know this PPI business? And now that fatty pancreas business? Fatty liver business. Right now pancreatitis cat is getting a drug cocktail so she'll eat. I give her PPI among other things. Makes me wonder if some people have a low grade pancreas unhappiness and that's why they need the PPIs. Lose the pancreas fat and reassess.
DeleteBut I totally disagree about the amount of fibre a person needs to eat. I get probably someplace between 20 and 30 grams a day and guts function just fine. Plus I'm not a fermented food a holic either. Unless sour cream counts.
DeleteIs it really necessary to produce nice Bristols every day? Oftentimes, especially now with the potato business, I go two days of 'token offerings' and then clearout. I'm just not making that much end stage product on the potato diet. If I make a meal with lots of green stuff and other veg along with the spuds, then of course there's lots of ahem, tmi stuff. Otherwise not. No problemo as far as I'm concerned.
"Hi. My name is Rudy and I'm a fermented food a colic."
DeleteToday I fermented five quarts of what I hope will be a lacto fermented relish made from minced cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, garlic, onion, and parsley. I did use a packet of Caldwell's starter.
Today, I also transferred six quarts of my favorite ferment, plain red cabbage kraut, to the refrigerator after three weeks at room temperature.
Next time I can get to the store I will get a few pounds of jalapeƱo peppers. My wife's favorite. I usually use peppers from our garden but it will be summer before I can harvest those.
This year I planted extra shallots and leeks to start the gardening season. Yep. Some will end up in a ferment.
Last year I planted a couple of rows of potatoes. They were fine but also easily purchased so this year leeks and shallots. I elect to not ferment potatoes.
I will use the space in the garden taken up by potatoes last year to plant more cushaws. I'm looking to corner the local cushaw market in 2016. A few cushaw culls will be fermented... :)
Wild cucumber,
ReplyDeleteAppreciate your comments. Was thinking about a short course of neem, then using garlic, turmeric, ginger, amla -things that are food. Does neem fall under the category of dangerous botanical? Would love to know what you, as an herbalist, consider safe.
Tim,
Thanks for the detailed response. Without going into too much detail, I do feel that my gut ph is off, because of some recurring fungal issues. I am afraid I may have one of those difficult guts that is hard to change over. So, I assumed that a difficult gut would need stronger antimicrobials. Big guns. Maybe a gentler approach is what I need. I hope it will be enough. Can't hurt to try. Really appreciate your thoughtful reply.
Fay
Fay - don't do neem. IF you had neem in your own garden and could gather and dry your own leaves, thus ensuring safe, clean product, maybe a weak tea. But commercial sources of most herbs in capsules are iffy so I never recommend them, and the oil and tincture of neem are flat out dangerous. Also avoid any of the berberines, they're very hard on the gut lining.
DeleteIf your issue is fungal, try calendula(marigold) tea, not just a short course, but consistently. Or a tincture of that is safe, too. Eat plain live cultured yoghurt. Drink a little wine and eat funky cheeses and lots of mushrooms. All these things help balance out the one 'fungal issue' that has had a chance to take hold. Take a little apple cider vinegar in water before meals and bathe in it, too.
A "short course" of anything is more likely to do as Tim says, drive the baddies into hiding and they'll just come back. It's a matter of good diet, learning not to stress about it (hard sometimes) and consistency.
You can do this!
Fay - I wish I had better advice. Even doctors don't know what to do with people like you. They have an arsenal of drugs, but rarely do they work. There is no end of internet guru with a protocol "guaranteed" to work. I see people jumping from plan to plan and never getting better.
DeleteThe couple of people who seem to really have fixed a bad gut did so by eating lots and lots of high fiber foods, including onions and garlic.
Wild cucumber,
ReplyDeleteNever thought about a short course making things worse. Assumed it would be the better way. Consistently using safer things sounds like a great plan! Thanks.
Fay
About 11 months ago, my doctor recommended a low carb diet to treat insulin resistance. She suggested that I read The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living and I used that as my guide to adopt a low carb lifestyle. I have faithfully stayed on track and rarely “cheat” except on a glass of wine or other adult beverage here and there. I really enjoy eating LC and find that it’s not hard at all for me to avoid grains and sugars.
ReplyDeleteWhen I went in for my 6 month check, I was wasn’t too upset that my cholesterol went from 192 to 241 as the authors of the aforementioned book reported this as a possibility. That combined with the fact that my triglycerides dropped by 20 points and my HDL increased by 20 led me to believe this was just an indication that my body was adjusting. I was disturbed though to see that my insulin went from 5mL to 12mL. However, I was determined to stay the course as I had seen a stabilization of weight (I am not overweight but constantly have to stay diligent to keep from gaining) and a reduction in body fat.
Now, within the last 6 weeks, I developed acid reflux. I was pretty sure that it was caused from a disruption of my gut bacteria due to an over-consumption of Splenda but was also open to the idea that my low carb diet was a contributing factor. When I first went low carb, I had read about resistant starches but like a lot in the LC community, I immediately got scared off by the dreaded “s” word and dismissed it immediately. This time around, I did more research and was definitely intrigued by potato starch as a way to feed the gut bacteria. The Free the Animal site was a huge fountain of information that I have been reading through slowly and I am so grateful to you and Richard!
So I am about week 5 into supplementing about 4 TBS a day of PS. I have mostly noticed improved regularity but I also seem to be able to process alcohol better (anything over 3 beverages in 12 hours use to leave me feeling weak and shaky with a terrible stomach for at least a day afterwards but the last time I drank more than that, I hardly had any symptoms) and, something I don’t think I’ve seen mentioned, clearer skin.
I am just starting to experiment with increasing probiotics in the form of kombucha, kefir, sauerkraut, etc. and will also be buying a supplemental form that I can open and add to my daily PS drink. Now I would like to add in some potato and white rice but I am really having to fight my LC indoctrination! Your research and experimentation seem to suggest that doing so can help with physiological insulin resistance, which may explain my last blood work results. However, thinking about eating starches almost makes me break out in a cold sweat.
I did order a blood glucose meter (up to this point, I have not checked my BG levels) as I think I can relieve some of my anxiety by being able to monitor what these “safe starches” do to me personally.
Anyway, this is a long book just to ask your opinion about how to go from LC to more of a PHD type diet. From your experiments, it seems that a VLC/LC/Ketogenic eater is going to see less of a blunting affect from RS so adding potatoes and rice (even if they are cooked, cooled, reheated) could make me see a fairly big spike in BG. So is it best to slowly add in small amounts and work up or jump right in with a potato hack?
Thanks for all you have done and shared! I am popping over to Amazon to buy your book right now :)
Oops, see that your book isn't quite available yet, but I am on the list to be notified when it is!
DeleteYou should upload this comment to Amazon and sell it yourself, lol.
DeleteNo, this is a common question, and pretty much exactly how I evolved from SAD to LC to VLC to PHD to Potato Hack.
It's hard to give advice, but I'd recommend just adding a potato a day, and also adding beans and rice to your menus for the long haul. Try a day or two of the potato hack and track your blood sugar as you go along. You will undoubtedly see a hefty spike after the meal, but your long term A1C and fasting BG should start to normalize a few weeks after you start adding starches back in.
People that regularly track FBG find that it can drop 10-30 points while they are potato hacking. But the long-term eating plan is most important.
Splenda? Alcohol? tsk, tsk
Use Stevia and drink less.
The book won't be on Amazon until next week sometime, but at CreateSpace now, if you don't mind paying extra for shipping. https://www.createspace.com/6068822
Thanks, Tim! Yes, I've completely switched to Stevia, monkfruit, and erythritol. As for the alcohol, I brew my own beer and wine and I've already given up the beer...can't bring myself to do so with wine yet! I usually limit myself to a glass or two during the week and then a couple other low carb choices on the weekend. I've always (semi) joked that I save my carb calories for a glass of wine...lol. I have noticed (I think other people have reported the same) that my desire for alcohol has gone down since starting the PS though.
DeleteAs for the food recommendations, I appreciate your advice and it is in line with what I did for lunch...I stirred PS into some cold leftover mashed potatoes and topped it with homemade sauerkraut. Hopefully the additions will help mitigate a huge spike and by next week I will have the BG meter to get a better look at things.
Thanks again and best of luck with your book sales. I will definitely give a review on Amazon once it's available!
Sorry...one more thing! I noticed that in your shopping section, you have an air popcorn popper. Popcorn has been one of the few things I have missed going LC. Does it have any resistant starch? I would love to have an excuse to eat it again...lol.
Deletehttp://vegetablepharm.blogspot.com/2015/10/popcorn-rs.html
DeletePopcorn is good food! Enjoy.
As to my advice to stop drinking, well, homemade beer and wine is a different story, especially unfiltered as most home brews are. Keep on brewing and enjoying beer and wine. A couple glasses a week is definitely not the worst thing you could be having, and quite possibly has many health benefits due to the yeasts involved in fermentation.
Thanks for the link and the good news. Time to dig out the ol' air popper. I have always love melted coconut oil on popcorn so it looks like a win win!
DeleteIf I actually enjoy raw potato (always have, but thought it was bad for you!), is there any reason why I shouldn't start adding them to my diet as a substitute for something else as snack etc? I assume starting small and building up is sensible. Thanks
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing wrong with eating raw potatoes. I don't believe it would be wise to eat them as a large source of daily calories, as they are almost completely undigested. But a raw potato a day would make a good, healthy snack.
DeleteDr. Davis, author of Wheat Belly quickly realized that by avoiding wheat and eating low carb, most people were very deficient in fiber. One of his workarounds? Raw potatoes!
"...you can incorporate foods available in modern grocery stores that mimic such practices. Among the foods that yield such fibers:
Green unripe bananas or plantains–with around 27 grams prebiotic fibers per medium sized banana
Raw peeled potato–with around 20 grams per 3 1/2-inch medium
Inulin powder–with 5 grams per teaspoon
Bob’s Red Mill raw unmodified potato starch–8 grams per tablespoon
Legumes, lentils, chickpeas, hummus–Around 3 grams per 1/4-cup. But we have to be careful here, as any more than this quantity and blood sugars start to climb to unhealthy levels."
http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2014/07/fertilize-garden-called-bowel-flora/
Wow, that was quick - thanks :) Reading the book as we 'speak'.
DeleteIs it essential to drink a lot of water when supplementing with raw potato starch? I've read that it's important to stay extra hydrated when consuming more soluble fiber. I've been drinking a lot of water lately because the digestive tract has gotten a bit sluggish lately. I usually take in 2-4 tbsp of bob's rs2/day. Maybe the extra water makes it worse?
ReplyDeleteI think the warnings were issued in conjunction with fiber that gels and expands like guar gum, psyllium husk, etc. Potato starch just stays granulated in water, so no problem. It's technically an insoluble fiber because it does not dissolve in water.
DeleteNot sure where to ask this, but how come you dont have a link in your store to glass noodles as a source of RS? Would these work? http://www.amazon.com/Dynasty-SaiFun-Threads-Noodles-5-29-Ounce/dp/B000H27I5G?ie=UTF8&keywords=saifun%20mung%20bean%20threads&qid=1461731114&ref_=sr_1_1_a_it&sr=8-1
ReplyDelete