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[clhw AT InfoAve.Net (clhw)]

My oldest child's "grandmother-in-law" lived on a farm in Indiana most of
her life. At some point, financial problems hit -- maybe the father died or
went to war -- anyway, the children and mother managed to survive the
winter on potatoes. They had almost nothing else to eat.

In "honor" of being sustained by potatoes, the g-i-l decided that she would
eat a potato a day, at least, for the rest of her life. Well, when I met
her, she was in her 70s and suffering from arthritis. Eventually, her
joints locked up so she was unable to move her arms or legs. I suspected
the potatoes. I cannot tell you if they were green or not.

Lately, it's been difficult to find potatoes in the stores which are NOT
green and I've gotten lazy about whittling the green off. Thanks for the
reminder, Gene.

>Potatoes are an ideal homestead food crop. They are easy to grow, are
>nutritious, and store well. They are a staple around which many
>ruralites build their homegrown menu. So it was in our family as I
>grew up first on our edge-of-town abundant acre and then our farm. So
>when a negative is suggested, there is resistance.
>
>A year or three ago--time zips--one of the ladies here, Marie?,
>offered some information on the potential health negatives from
>eating potatoes, especially without peeling to remove that green
>layer just under the skin, apparently caused when the sun shines
>bright on the skin. (Mulch, mulch, mulch.) At the time I didn't think
>the caution applied to me. A short time later some of my joints
>started talking to me. I decided to experiment. I stopped eating
>potatoes. I stopped growing them at Heartwood and I stopped buying
>them in the city. Eventually I stopped thinking about them.
>
>At some point it occurred to me that my joint pain was gone. Why? I
>pondered the various possibilities. Lower stress? Other dietary
>change? Dry Phoenix heat? None could be excluded; all could be factors.
>
>My present persuasion is that there is something to the potato
>question. Possibly to all nightshades. I am beginning to eat potatoes
>again. One difference is I am peeling them of that green tissue just
>under the skin. An aside: I wonder if the dark-skinned spuds keep the
>sun from creating the green; I have recently peeled some purple
>taters and there did not seem to be any green under the skin.
>Something to add to the experiment.
>
>Any other personal experiences we should know about?