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A comment on Thoughts on the potato diet. Parent comment

Re:Thoughts on the potato diet by friedman23 on Monday July 11, 2022 @02:02PM (#32059494)
I wonder where the misinformation that potatoes were unhealthy / fattening came from? Was it from french fries and fried starches?
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Re:Thoughts on the potato diet by nikkwong on Monday July 11, 2022 @11:10PM (#32065109)
Potatoes tend to be unhealthy via the methods that most people use to cook them [1] because of the formation of acrylamide, a potent carcinogen [2]. In fact potatoes are the food that delivers the highest amount of acrylamide in the American diet through the consumption of chips and french fries. But other methods of cooking like baking, frying, or even microwaving are also prone to forming acrylamide.

If you want to avoid acrylamide when cooking potatoes, you must cook them below 250F (pressure cooking or steaming, I think)?

[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18320571/

[2] https://www.fda.gov/food/chemical-contaminants-food/acrylami....

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Re:Thoughts on the potato diet by ThePadawan on Monday July 11, 2022 @02:25PM (#32059799)
I believe it might be based on misunderstanding the generic category "vegetables".

I.e. "I eat lots of vegetables! I had french fries on Tuesday, mashed potato on Wednesday, ..."

Reminds me of the classic regulatory decision (which I actually looked up to make sure that it wasn't an urban myth, that's how crazy it sounds) that the tomato paste on top of pizza is classified as a vegetable for school lunches [0].

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketchup_as_a_vegetable

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Re:Thoughts on the potato diet by fsckboy on Tuesday July 12, 2022 @03:39AM (#32066745)
what's the basis for thinking that ketchup or tomato paste or sauce are less nutritious than other cooked vegetables? It's tomatoes.
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Re:Thoughts on the potato diet by djmips on Monday July 11, 2022 @02:14PM (#32059660)
The Glycemic Index (GI) looks bad, even look at the chart in the article. However the GI for potatoes changes depending on how you eat them. Cold potatoes have a much lower GI than hot freshly served.
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Re:Thoughts on the potato diet by xeromal on Monday July 11, 2022 @06:28PM (#32062895)
Wow, really? That is very interesting? Too bad hot potatoes are delicious. I think as long as I air fried mine and let them cool to room temp, I would enjoy them.
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Re:Thoughts on the potato diet by rootusrootus on Monday July 11, 2022 @06:41PM (#32063079)
It's not really about the heat. They undergo a change as they cool down which changes the GI. Heating them back up does not reverse that, so you can still have hot potatoes with the lower GI effect as long as you cool them down first.
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Re:Thoughts on the potato diet by xeromal on Monday July 11, 2022 @06:43PM (#32063106)
That's incredible. Thanks for sharing. Can you tell me what hte process is called?
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Re:Thoughts on the potato diet by djmips on Monday July 11, 2022 @10:06PM (#32064747)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retrogradation_(starch)

And see the resistant starch link as well.

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Re:Thoughts on the potato diet by xeromal on Wednesday July 13, 2022 @04:20PM (#32088252)
What temp should I cool them to? I'm making potatoes now. :P
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Re:Thoughts on the potato diet by strbean on Monday July 11, 2022 @02:10PM (#32059603)
Potatoes are calorie dense. I think the focus on satiation rather than pure calorie counting is a more recent trend.

Also, it sounds like water content is a significant contributor to their capacity to satiate, so things like potato chips probably fail miserably under this lense. Many processed foods made from potatoes have far less water in them than home cooked versions (french fries, hash browns).

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Re:Thoughts on the potato diet by TrisMcC on Monday July 11, 2022 @02:48PM (#32060103)
> Potatoes are calorie dense.

No.

https://gurmeet.net/Images/food/calorie_density/CalorieDensi...

Boiled potatoes are 870 kcal per kilogram.

1 kilogram of potatoes is a lot.

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Re:Thoughts on the potato diet by zhynn on Monday July 11, 2022 @03:20PM (#32060525)
Having done 28 days of the potato diet, this is true. It is difficult to get over 1kcal of potato. Eating two kilos of potato in a day is heroic. I would eat like 1 kilo per day, and be satisfied-full. It's wild.
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Re:Thoughts on the potato diet by mrguyorama on Monday July 11, 2022 @04:40PM (#32061508)
I could definitely eat 2kg of potatoes a day. As french fries. Kind of ruins the whole point though
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Re:Thoughts on the potato diet by borroka on Monday July 11, 2022 @08:02PM (#32063871)
One can eat 2 kilograms of boiled potatoes, refrigerated, cut into very thin slices and then air-fried at 400F for 15-20 minutes with a drizzle of avocado or extra-virgin olive oil. Some rosemary too. An overall increase of about 150 calories per kilogram compared to boiled potatoes only.

The flavor is similar to that of French fries and they are an excellent substitute (I say this as someone who when asked what would be his last meal would answer: french fries).

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Re:Thoughts on the potato diet by strbean on Monday July 11, 2022 @03:49PM (#32060880)
The term 'calorie dense' is used in reference to proportion of other nutrients. Water isn't typically included.

By your standards, Coca-Cola is actually less calorie dense than boiled potato, but I don't think anyone would recommend a Coca-Cola diet.

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Re:Thoughts on the potato diet by TrisMcC on Monday July 11, 2022 @04:07PM (#32061116)
Calorie density is not something made up. You are redefining a very well-known term. Many legumes, grains, and root vegetables are made up of copious amounts of water in their prepared form.

Calorie density is also not the only metric for recommendation. Everyone agrees that liquid calories are not "felt" by the body in the same way as solid foods.

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Re:Thoughts on the potato diet by lkbm on Monday July 11, 2022 @09:21PM (#32064424)
That's "nutrient density"[0]. "calorie density" (also "energy density") is calories per unit of weight[1].

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutrient_density [1] https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/calorie-density

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Re:Thoughts on the potato diet by nathanaldensr on Monday July 11, 2022 @02:37PM (#32059962)
Also, potatoes (Russets especially) are an excellent source of potassium, which most people are grossly deficient in.
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