White Potatoes. We're frenemies.

[AstroKT]

Sharing my experiences with white potatoes in case anyone else might need help troubleshooting.

White potatoes taste yummy and are great for adding variety (plus sweet potatoes have just gotten too sweet for me over the years). I've been eating Paleo for 3-4 years and have several W30 and a W90 under my belt. I typically easy very close to W30 most of the time because it makes me feel awesome, I found I don't tolerate most things very well (even white rice etc which is typically not a problem for most), and it makes my eczema disappear.

For the last several months I've been enjoying white potatoes mixed in with my typical W30 compliant meals: diced and fried in ghee with Brussels sprouts, served in a kale & sausage soup, etc. It took me a while to pin point it, but 1-2 weeks after eating the white potatoes my eczema would come back with a vengeance and spread very quickly. Also, over the last 2 months I've noticed the white potatoes mess with my gut causing discomfort and made me feel full all the time (ie, I'd have them for breakfast and wouldn't feel hungry for the rest of the day. Even if I would eat when not hungry in these instances, the food would not be palatable and I'd only get about 1/2 a meal down). I even did a self-experiment and as the quantity of potatoes increased, the symptoms increased manifold. Remove the potatoes and the symptoms go away. 3 days away from the white P's and my skin has healed dramatically!

Yes, white potatoes are in the nightshade family and eczema is also typically exacerbated by the nightshades. But over the years I've done normal W30's (pre-white potatoes) and never had an issue with tomatoes, peppers, or other AIP items included in my diet. For some reason, the white potatoes put me way over the edge.

Just thought I'd share my experiences in the hopes of helping someone in the same boat. Searches on the forum when I was trying to troubleshoot showed no topics about white potato tolerance. Thanks for letting me ramble guys and let me know if you have any questions or similar experiences!

[Carlaccini]

Thanks for sharing!

 

I seem to be okay with white potatoes but I am noticing that I am becoming increasingly sensitive to tomatoes and peppers!  It used to be that I was tolerating them okay cooked but could not tolerate them raw.  

 

Now I am finding that even if I consume a tiny amount of tomatoes - my eczema flares up.

 

I've never done a full on strict AIP - but I am definitely now considering to do one considering I am already sensitive to eggs, most nuts, and eggplants.

 

We shall see.... 

[CGinDC]

Hi there, it's interesting you posted this - I did a W30 a few years ago when white potatoes weren't allowed, and by the end my arthritis inflammation had reduced so much that I was able to replace my NSAIDs with curcumin. That is...until I went off the rails in the re-introduction stage. I'm on day 21 of my second W30 and I've been really itchy and my back is hurting a lot the last few days, so I decided to remove white potatoes. While I LOVE them, it would be good to figure out if they're causing me issues!

[MeadowLily]

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2009/aug/05/1f5focusm195324-pros-and-cons-munching-raw-potatoe/

 

I like raw white potatoes but I've stopped that.  I eat them al dente.   Sweet and purple potatoes.  Ditto.   I like to steam all of them, too.  I no longer eat the skins, especially if there's a tinge of green on white potatoes.  Skins can cause digestive problems.

[AstroKT]

I love hearing everyone's approach and tolerances. I've toyed with the idea of an AIP W30 but that will take a TON of self control. Plus I love my tomato based Italian meals so much!!