Executive director of the Washington State Potato Commission, Chris Voigt has pledged that for two months he will eat nothing but potatoes. Beginning October 1st, and continuing through November 29th, Voigt will consume twenty potatoes a day to sustain him calorically. Voigt believes this publicity stunt will help to educate the public about potatoes and their nutritional attributes, letting the public know that potatoes are an “inexpensive source of Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, potassium, magnesium, and dietary fiber”. The potato has been declared a decent famine food, because it possesses many different nutrients. The United Nations as a way to eliminate world hunger has promoted the potato.
I cannot imagine eating any type of food exclusively for any length of time. The thought of eating nothing but potatoes with no toppings, and no side dishes for two months makes me slightly nauseous. However, I must admit this is an awesome publicity stunt. Over the years, potatoes have come to be viewed in a negative light, due to their high glycemic index. Potatoes have been associated with such health issues as weight gain, and diabetes. The thing that most people do not consider however, is that the negative aspects of eating potatoes can be managed by maintaining portion control and in healthy preparation of the potatoes themselves, in other words lets watch the amount of butter, gravy and salt. Also limiting the amount of fried potatoes in your diet reduces the threat of cholesterol itself. Potatoes have always been considered a poor people food, because of their ability to make meals stretch and ensure that everyone at the table has an ample amount to eat. This makes it ironic to me that the United Nations has started promoting potatoes as a food to end world hungry, when the poor people of the world have utilized the potato for centuries.
I can't imagine eating one item eclusively for 2 months either. This story reminds me of that show 30 days. I see how the potatoe has plenty of nutrients, but 2 months of the same thing just can't be that good for you. I do understand this is a publicity stunt. It's funny that you wrote this because I actually have cut potatoes completely from my diet. I'm trying to reduce my sugar intake, but I didn't stop to look up all the other nutrients I was giving up in addition to not accounting for the things I add to whatever type of potatoe I'm endulging at that time. I think you swayed me to go ahead and have a potatoe or two throughout the week!!!
ReplyDelete