mdolin@nugipsy.UUCP (01/15/87)
Does anyone know about the nutritional value of potato skins? In the Pritikin program book a few of the recipies call for peeled potatoes. I thought I remembered something about potato skins being bad nutritionally but I can't find it in the book. Certain "healthy" diet plans allow baked potatoes including the skin. For example, the Diet Workshop seems to be in agreement on certain nutritional points with Pritikin but disagrees in several other areas. I'm under the impression that potato skin is one of them. I'd like to know what is in the skin of potatoes and should it be avoided. Regards, Mike Dolin (Standard disclaimer applies) Gould Computer Systems Division Ft. Lauderdale, Florida .....!{brl-bmd,pur-ee,sun}!gould!mdolin
dcohen@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU (Dawn Myfanwy Cohen) (01/19/87)
I seem to remember hearing something about the poisonous part of the potato being the eyes or the sprouts. Skins are fine, as far as I know.-- Have Fun! --Dawn (dcohen@topaz.rutgers.edu)
dma@euler.Berkeley.EDU (Controls Wizard) (01/19/87)
Keywords:solanine The eyes are always poisonous; I'm not sure about sprouts but I wouldn't eat them (remember, potatoes are related to belladonna, a.k.a. deadly nightshade). The skins are usually O.K. (in moderation). The thing to watch out for is potatoes with greenish skins. This indicates the presence of solanine (I may be spelling this wrong) which is the potato poison in question. The concentration of solanine is increased by exposure to sunlight which is a good reason for keeping your potatoes in a cool, dark place. Even eating one or two potatoes with higher than normal solanine levels won't do you much harm as it isn't remarkably toxic. Besides, it makes the potatoes bitter so you probably won't want them anyway. The solanine level in non-green potatoes is small enough that you would have to eat on the order of 5 pounds a day to cause any problems. Miriam Nadel
thoma@reed.UUCP (Ann Muir Thomas) (01/20/87)
In article <46@houligan.UUCP> mdolin@nugipsy.UUCP writes: >I'd like to know what is in the skin of potatoes and should it be >avoided. I think that it is _sprouted_ potatos that are poisonous. The skin, or the layer immediately under the skin of an _unsprouted_ potato contains most of the potato's vitamin content. -- "You can't help that," said the Cat, "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad." "How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice. "You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here." Ann Muir Thomas tektronix!reed!thoma
mdolin@nugipsy.UUCP (01/20/87)
In a previous posting I asked about the nutritional value of potato skins. After a little closer reading of the Pritikin Program, I found this excerpt: `The potato is a splendidly balanced food. Avoid the skins though, which contain solanine, a toxic substance.' What is solanine & what does it do to you? How much can a person stand? I also heard that if a potato is baked and then the skins are fried, as they are served in many popular restaurants with butter, cheese, bacon bits,...the works -, the skin is carcinogenic. Regards, Mike Dolin (Standard disclaimer applies) Gould Computer Systems Division Ft. Lauderdale, Florida .....!{brl-bmd,pur-ee,sun}!gould!mdolin
cavrak@uvm-gen.UUCP (01/25/87)
> `The potato is a splendidly balanced food. Avoid the skins though, > which contain solanine, a toxic substance.' > The way I remember it is that solanine is "produced" in potato skins when potatos are left in the sun light. Visually, this is indicated by a pale green coloring sometimes visible on potatoes. The fruit of the potato is, again if my memory serves me, is quite poisonous. I suspect that this is related to the fact that potatos are members of the nightshade family (Solanacae, along with eggplant, tomato, red pepper, tobacco, belladona, jimsonweed, and the garden petunia). Palmer Fowler's "Fieldbook of Natural History", doesn't describe solanine but some equivalent gardening book must. -- Stephen J. Cavrak USENET: ...!decvax!dartvax!uvm-gen!cavrak Academic Computing Services CSNET: cavrak@uvm The University of Vermont OtherNET: cavrak%uvm@csnet-relay Burlington, VT 05405 MABELL: (802) 656-3190
jc@cdx39.UUCP (01/29/87)
> > `The potato is a splendidly balanced food. Avoid the skins though, > which contain solanine, a toxic substance.' > This is one of the nicer examples of a "semi-truth", i.e., a fact that is both true and irrelevant. The green portions of most of the Solanaceae (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, Jimsonweed, nightshade, etc.) contain measurable quantities of this toxin, and in many cases the levels are high enough to be poisonous to humans. In other cases (the greenery of tomatoes, for instance) there is enough to make you ill but otherwise not very dangerous. In still others (peppers, tomatoes) there are low levels of the toxin, but not enough to even make you ill. The green portions (and sprouts) of potatoes are in the latter category. True, they contain the toxin, but it's not enough to worry about. Some people would argue that "Well, I should obviously avoid any food that contains even small amounts of known toxins." If you were to do this, you wouldn't have much in your diet. You would have to exclude all spices, which are all at least slightly toxic in large doses. Many other common foods, especially those in the first paragraph above, would be on the excluded list. Also, most vitamins are toxic in large doses, so perhaps you should avoid them, too. Your body (mostly, your liver) can handle most of the common environmental ("natural") toxins, in small doses. Don't worry about it. Well, you might toss green or sprouted potatoes. They aren't really dangerous, unless you eat 10 pounds in a sitting. But they don't taste very good. -- John M Chambers Phone: 617/364-2000x7304 Email: ...{adelie,bu-cs,harvax,inmet,mcsbos,mit-eddie,mot[bos]}!cdx39!{jc,news,root,usenet,uucp} Smail: Codex Corporation; Mailstop C1-30; 20 Cabot Blvd; Mansfield MA 02048-1193 Clever-Saying: Uucp me out of here, Scotty; there's no AI on this node!
adams@crcge1.UUCP (Drew Adams) (02/03/87)
In article <491@uvm-gen.UUCP> cavrak@uvm-gen.UUCP writes: > >> `The potato is a splendidly balanced food. Avoid the skins though, >> which contain solanine, a toxic substance.' >> > ..... >Palmer Fowler's "Fieldbook of Natural History", >doesn't describe solanine but some equivalent gardening book must. The above reference is misleading. Eve Laurence Palmer was the author of the original edition. I assume a Dr. Fowler was added later. Eve Palmer was a joy to all whose paths he crossed, and the Fieldbook reflects well his love and familiarity with nature.