Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition

From source (the wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato )

The US National Toxicology Program suggests that the average American consumes at most 12.5 mg/day of solanine from potatoes (the toxic dose is actually several times this, depending on body weight). Dr. Douglas L. Holt, the State Extension Specialist for Food Safety at the University of Missouri, notes that no reported cases of potato-source solanine poisoning have occurred in the U.S. in the last 50 years and most cases involved eating green potatoes or drinking potato-leaf tea.

Solanine is also found in other plants, mainly in the mostly deadly nightshade family, which includes a minority of edible plants including the potato and the tomato, and other typically more dangerous plants like tobacco. This poison affects the nervous system causing weakness and confusion.

Very interesting! I had no idead that potatoes, especially wild, had a similar toxin ot nightshade!

Also curious to me is that many 'traditional' things people do: e.g. cooking and then cooling the potato, are beneficial. It seems we run across things like this quite a bit. The cooking helps lower the toxins and increase the starch benefit. (though I'm sure that not ALL things fall into this category).

Indeed; I think I saw a similar comment before: Everything seems to be toxic these days

Thank you for your comment. I never knew that potatoes could be dangerous! People have been eating potatoes for generations, who knew that they can be bad for you. It seems that potatoes are toxic on their own accord, however, and not because of human intervention.

I am beginning to wonder if it is just a lucky guess that by tradition we cook potatoes and then cool them!

Probably it is just because the don't taste so good raw!

Rhubarb is another plant where the stalk is tasty but the leaves are poisonous.

How come the potatoes stored in cold storage turn sweet and loose original taste?.

I think I like potatoes or as I like to say taters in just about any way I have ever tried them. One of my aunts used to eat them raw after they were peeled and although they weren't particularity bad tasting I never really got into eating them this way. I never knew they had a toxic side but then I don't think I have ever ate a potato stalk or leaf. I have grown the red potatoes and the bigger baking type. When I was a boy my dad would store them under the house on a bed of straw and he used to lime them and cover them over with straw and they would last a really long time that way. He always told me a dark, cool and dry storage area was the trick to making them last.

My grandfather is a big potato fan - he grew up on a farm where they raised their own farm, and also had horses to plow the fields...

Anyway even in modern day he still grows several rows of potatoes in his garden and stores them in big bags in his cellar. They keep most of the winter. If something happens to his crop he buys a 50 pound bag or two from a farmer he knows. You have to watch out for any rotten/spoiled ones because they will ruin the rest. And yes, it's gross when they turn green! The long eyes are gross too...

My favorite way to eat them is peeled and cut into thin strips and fried in oil - yummy homemade french fries!

For Dog owners

Cooked potato can be given to dogs, most love it. But some dogs also like raw potatoes, which is really bad for them I am told, prevent them eating them raw.....

Now I know why they are dangerous, many thanks for the infos.....