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?