phillup Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Yep, I get it. It is arbitrary. But, then you go and mention that it is a nightshade. As if that is important. So, I guess my question would be: why are we allowed to eat other nightshades? (Or, did I miss the part where we aren't supposed to be noshing down on tomatoes and bell peppers in a salad?) TIA! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny M Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 I'm not a doctor so take my medical comments for what they're worth...For whole30, the issue with white potatoes is not necessarily that they're a nightshade as much as they are a very starchy carbohydrate dense food. Part of the goal of the whole30 is to get some of your insulin responses in check and eating white potatoes when there is not a glycogen store need (like needing a hit of carbs to restore after a high intensity workout) can run things a little bit awry. There is a time and place in nutrition for foods like potatoes but for this "reset" they're best left out. Some people have a negative response to nightshades in general including things like arthritic inflammation or autoimmune responses. Unless you are having arthritis issues or have an autoimmune issue most nightshades are fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emily Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 I'm not a doctor or part of the Whole 9 team, but what I've found is that not allowing white potatoes forces me to find more nutrient dense veggies to help fill the plate. When I'm not Whole30-ing, I let white potatoes back in, but I notice that they tend to take the place of greens, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 It's not that nightshades are explicitly wonderful or terrible; context matters. For some people (maybe 1 in 10), nightshades are generally poorly tolerated and can exacerbate inflammatory (especially joint-related) conditions. So from that perspective, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant (etc.) are all in the same "category" of poorly-tolerated foods. (Shameless plug: our upcoming book, It Starts With Food [http://bit.ly/iswfamazon], details an autoimmune-specific protocol if that is an additional factor for some folks.) So potatoes *may* be problematic from a inflammatory perspective. But the arbitrary exclusion of them has more to do with changing habits and patterns on your Whole30, and choosing very nutrient-dense foods the most often. Since most Western eaters consume potatoes as fries, chips, or mashed/baked potatoes (all of which are notoriously easy to overconsume), we encourage folks to find and eat more nutrient-dense veggies on their Whole30 (and beyond!). Emily's comment here already demonstrated our point with potatoes pushing other veggies off the plate, which we think is generally a suboptimal choice. Best of luck! Dallas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jodi J Henry Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 After finishing whole30, if I did consider adding potatoes back in occasionally, are red skin potatoes any better than other white potatoes? (I'm not sure why they would be...... Just hopeful, maybe) Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renee Lee Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 Depends on your context, Jodi. Assuming you're healthy with no autoimmune condition or gut permeability issues, white potatoes are probably fine to add in occasionally. Because the most problematic part of the potato is the skin, even though I DON'T have any of those issues, I still make sure to peel them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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