The Mighty Potato: A Historical and Nutritional Journey
The Mighty Potato: A Historical and Nutritional Journey
Discover the potato's historical significance and its surprising nutritional benefits.
The importance of discussing potatoes is comparable to the significance of discussing rice: on any given day, these foods provide hundreds of millions of people worldwide with the majority of their calories. They are a universal dietary backbone of countless local cuisines and may account for most of what's on any given plate, almost anywhere in the world, at any given moment. Statistically, you are eating potatoes right now.
It is generally accepted that the nutrient profile of potatoes changed world history exactly twice:
First, potatoes fueled the rise and consolidation of the Incan empire. For decades their glorious cities and unstoppable armies were powered by potatoes in all forms. Notable among them was the dehydrated chuño that could be stored for over ten years without spoiling. Incan ingenuity took sporadic outcroppings of wild, partially toxic tubers and cultivated them efficiently on raised fields surrounding Lake Titicaca. Their success in agriculture was a necessary foundation for success in construction and combat, as builders and fighters were all fed on a consistent supply of nutrient-dense potatoes.
After the Spanish conquistadors brought potatoes back to the Old World, they changed history all over again by nearly ending food insecurity across Europe for the first time. Especially in the North, cooler temperatures and lowland terrains suited the plants just fine, and by the 1800s, potatoes supplied roughly 80 per cent of all calories consumed by Irish farmers. It was said that one acre of potatoes with a cow to work the land was enough to feed a family of eight in perpetuity. Such self-sufficiency marked a radical change in the life of European peasants, who had endured famines multiple times a decade in pre-potato times, depending on the geography. Nothing else, from geese to grains, could feed as many people as well, with the same footprint, as the pomme-de-terre.
Not only did the brand new spuds offer quick-burning carbohydrates in their starchy flesh, but they offered protein, as mentioned, and even enough vitamin C to stop a sailor from getting scurvy. This comprehensive chemical ensemble resulted in a population explosion that fueled new heights of colonial expansion, particularly for the British Empire.
Ireland became synonymous with potato fields, which also became the scenes of tragedy beginning in 1845 when water mould eviscerated whole crops, causing mass starvation.
In retrospect, this was a brutal consequence of relying exclusively on a single monocrop.
The Andes mountain range boasts hundreds of landraces and heirloom potato varieties of every shape and colour imaginable. But the potatoes imported initially to Europe didn't come close to reflecting that genetic diversity. Instead of a harsh mountain landscape that featured a new microclimate and a new potato variety around every corner, large white potatoes now found themselves in endless flat fields of identical clones. This made them easy prey for microscopic parasites that had never had so much easy food presented so conveniently.
In an ironic fin de siecle, our brightest minds are now returning their attention to the genetic wealth of the Andes for insurance against future food insecurity; amidst the thousands of ancestral potato landraces, there is endless crossbreeding potential, which means greater resilience to all manner of climates, predators and diseases.
The story of potatoes is a dramatic one, to be sure. But perhaps one of the most striking revelations about the world's most comforting vegetable is just how new it is for most of us. In less than 500 years, potatoes went from being completely unheard of outside South America to becoming everyone's favourite source of carbohydrates.
Potatoes: Superfood or Artery-Clogging Death Spuds From Hell?
I was surprised to learn about the potato's ability to give Incan warriors an edge over their competition or empower millions of European peasants to care for their families. I never really thought of potatoes as a superfood. But historically, it's hard to deny that that's precisely their role.
The truth is that if you had to live off one vegetable, you could make much worse choices. As a nutritionally complete crop, growing potatoes ranked highly as an efficient way- perhaps the most efficient way- to use a small amount of land to keep a family full, healthy and strong for a relatively long period.
An Irresistible Nutrient Profile
It is a misconception that the good stuff resides in the skin- the flesh of a potato is also packed with nutrients.
Chief among these is an exceptional type of fibre known as resistant starch that makes potatoes incredibly supportive of healthy gut bacteria. This starch is called resistant because digestive enzymes do not break it down. Instead, it makes its way to the large intestine, where it can nourish happy lactobacillus and bifidobacteria probiotic strains. Interestingly, allowing cooked potatoes to cool causes potato starch to retrograde and gelatinize into resistant starch. Whether they were boiled or baked, or what type of potatoes, the resistant starch remains even if you heat them again, and your gut will appreciate it.
Potato Protein
They don't get much attention for protein, but it's true; potatoes contain all nine essential amino acids the human body can't make alone. The protein of eggs is considered the gold standard of protein quality based on its proportion of amino acids and absorbability, ranked at a BV (biological value) of 100. Soybeans sit at 84 and beans at 73. Potatoes, perhaps surprisingly, have a BV score of 90. This means that even though potatoes don't have a lot of protein, their balance of essential amino acids is remarkably close to the ideal balance sought by the human body and will generally be very well absorbed. Neurotransmitters, immunity, muscle and gut integrity, and hormones all win when the body gets the aminos it needs.
Happiness Chemicals
Potatoes contain some thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2), and folate (B9), but they are excellent sources of pyridoxine, also known as vitamin B6. Not only does B6 support healthy hormonal balance and digestive fire, but it is also a central B vitamin for all things mood and sleep regulation. Pyridoxine is required to make significant happiness neurotransmitters serotonin (calm and bliss), dopamine (pleasure and reward), GABA (our 'chillout' chemical) and our good friend melatonin, the sleepytime hormone (and so much more). It even keeps homocysteine in check, a bad actor in heart disease pathology that can cause damage to blood vessels and arteries. Finally, B6 is famous for helping to remember dreams better.
Heart Helpers
Potato skins offer excellent sources of the two central heart minerals, magnesium and potassium. Both are widely deficient in North America. Bananas and avocados are two great sources of magnesium and potassium, but potatoes have them beat! For keeping your arteries healthy and relaxed into old age, warding off risks of stroke and hypertension, potassium and magnesium are indispensable allies.
And since they are also essential electrolytes, they will help your cells get hydrated: a glass of water with trace amounts of sodium, potassium and magnesium will be more hydrating than a glass of water with no trace minerals.
Potato Pickin'
Going organic is a good policy for selecting potatoes since the skins carry so much nutrition but may also wear some remaining pesticide residue. Avoid potatoes that bear green patches- you are seeing the emergence of a poisonous alkaloid called solanine.
Where colour is concerned, mix it up but don't overthink it. Red and purple potatoes impart some extra antioxidants like anthocyanins; remember that even white potatoes are anything but blank. For example, research on heating and cooling potatoes to increase resistant starch has found that while the preparation method made a huge difference, the skin colour was almost irrelevant. The headline here is that all organic potatoes are superfoods, and getting a rotation of good colours in your shopping basket is the best bet.
Are they good for you or not?
We have a certain cultural amnesia around potatoes. We take them for granted as something that's always been and will always be around. Not only have we forgotten a time when they weren't available, we've forgotten their identity as the West's original superfood.
Appraising the health impact of eating potatoes demands a holistic viewpoint: What potatoes are being eaten, and how? Roasted seasonal russets with sea salt and olive oil amidst a colourful plate of low glycemic veggies and high-quality proteins will have a very different impact than a whole bag of flavoured potato chips eaten on an empty stomach.
The white potato has become a blank canvas for expressing culinary ideas. Still, unfortunately, the artist's vision is usually more about pleasing the mouth than the rest of the body. The tubular odyssey of the Andean potato has taken us down a winding road of deep frying, trans fats, and insulin dysregulation.
But that is not the true nature of the vegetable. I say, long live the glorious potato. Let it be returned its due nobility. Let it be seen in its proper light as a nutritional microcosm and the secret weapon of the conqueror.
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