Can We Survive on Potato

Advanced Level

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For all of 2016, Andrew Taylor ate only potatoes. There were a few caveats to his potato diet: He ate both white potatoes and sweet ones, and sometimes mixed in soymilk, tomato sauce, salt and herbs. He also took B12 supplements. But, overall, he ate potatoes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He took four blood tests over the year which he claims all came back normal. He even lost weight and felt more energized.

Technically, the traditional white potato contains all the essential amino acids you need to build proteins, repair cells, and fight diseases. And eating just five of them a day would get you there. However, if you sustained on white potatoes alone, you would eventually run into vitamin and mineral deficiencies. That’s where sweet potatoes come in. Including these orangey ones in the mix—technically, they belong to a different taxonomic family than white potatoes—increases the likelihood that the potato consumer will get their recommended daily dose of Vitamin A, the organic compound in carrots that your mom told you could make you see in the dark, and Vitamin E.

Of course, there are a lot of health disadvantages to potatoes, especially when you eat them en masse. White potatoes are high in a kind of carbohydrate that causes your blood sugar to spike and then dip, which puts a strain on the insulin system. People who ate a lot of these tubers were more likely to get diabetes and become obese, according to multiple studies.

Andrew Taylor actually lost weight—probably from eating less overall and giving up sugar—which wasn’t his ultimate goal. He quit eating most food to train himself to get comfort and joy from other areas of his life. But now even though his spud experiment is over, he still gets pretty excited about potatoes. “It was just an experiment and turned out to be exactly like I wanted,” he says.

Elementary Level

[audio style = "light" url="images/breakfast/BR-No-50-Elementary.mp3" volume="100"]

For all of 2016, Andrew Taylor ate only potatoes. Of course, his diet was not just potatoes: He ate both white potatoes and sweet ones, and sometimes mixed in soymilk, tomato sauce, salt and herbs. He also took B12 supplements. But, overall, he ate potatoes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He took four blood tests over the year which he says all came back normal. He even lost weight and felt more energetic.

Technically, the traditional white potato has all the necessary amino acids you need to build proteins, repair cells, and fight diseases. And eating just five of them a day would get you there. However, if you live on white potatoes alone, after a long time you would experience a lack of vitamins and minerals. That’s where sweet potatoes come in. Although they belong to a different group than white potatoes, including these orange ones in the mix increases the probability that the potato consumer will get their recommended daily amount of Vitamin A, the organic compound in carrots that your mom told you could make you see in the dark, and Vitamin E.

Of course, there are a lot of health disadvantages to potatoes, especially when you eat them together. White potatoes contain a lot of a kind of carbohydrate that causes your blood sugar to increase and then decrease. This puts the insulin system in trouble. People who ate a lot of these potatoes were more likely to get diabetes and become obese, according to multiple studies.

Andrew Taylor actually lost weight—probably from eating less overall and stop eating sugar—which wasn’t his final goal. He quit eating most food to train himself to get comfort and joy from other areas of his life. But now even though his potato experiment is finished, he still gets pretty excited about them. “It was just an experiment and was exactly like I wanted,” he says.

ترجمه فارسی

می تونیم با خوردن سیب زمینی زنده بمونیم؟

کل سال ۲۰۱۶ اندرو تیلور فقط سیب زمینی خورد. البته چند تا نکته در مورد رژیم سیب زمینی اندرو وجود داشت: اون هم سیب زمینی سفید می خورد هم سیب زمینی شیرین و بعضی وقتا هم سیب زمینی رو با شیر سویا، سس گوجه فرنگی، نمک و یه سری گیاه مخلوط می کرد. اون همچنین مکمل بی۱۲ هم مصرف می کرد اما در کل برای صبحانه، نهار و شام سیب زمینی می خورد. اندرو در طول اون سال۴ بار تست خون داد که به گفته ی خودش همشون عادی و طبیعی بودن. اون حتی وزن هم کم کرد و پر انرژی تر شده بود.

از نظر علمی، سیب زمینی سفید همه آمینو اسیدهایی که شما برای ساخت پروتئین، ترمیم سلولها و مبارزه با بیماری لازم دارین رو در خودش داره و شما با خوردن تنها پنج تا از اونا در روز می تونین همه این نیازها رو برطرف کنین. اما اگر فقط سیب زمینی سفید مصرف کنین در نهایت دچار کمبود ویتامین و مواد معدنی می شین. اینجاست که نقش سیب زمینی شیرین معلوم میشه. اضافه کردن این سیب زمینی های نارنجی رنگ (که از نظر علمی از خانواده سیب زمینی سفید متفاوته) به رژیم غذایی این احتمال رو بیشتر می کنه که مصرف کننده سیب زمینی، دوز توصیه شده ویتامین آ – همون ترکیبات آلی موجود در هویج که مادرتون میگفت باعث می شه بتونین تو تاریکی بهتر ببینین – و ویتامین ای رو دریافت کنه.

البته انواع سیب زمینی مضرات زیادی برای سلامتی هم دارن خصوصا اگر همه رو با هم بخورین. سیب زمینی سفید مقدار زیاد از نوعی کربوهیدرات رو داره که باعث می شه قند خونتون ناگهان بالا بره و بعد افت کنه که فشار زیادی به سیستم انسولینتون وارد می کنه. بر اساس نتایج تحقیقات متعدد، شانس ابتلا به دیابت و چاق شدن در کسانیکه از این غده (در گیاه شناسی سیب زمینی از غده تکثیر می شه) زیاد استفاده می کردن، بالاتر بود.

اندرو تیلور عملا وزن کم کرد که هدف اصلیش نبود. اینم احتمالا به این دلیل بود که در مجموع کمتر می خورد و قند مصرف نمی کرد. اون خوردن بیشتر غذاها رو کنار گذاشت تا رو خودش کار کنه که از بقیه ابعاد زندگیش لذت ببره و آرامش بگیره. اما حالا با اینکه آزمایشش رو سیب زمینی تموم شده، هنوزم برای سیب زمینی هیجان زده می شه. اندرو میگه: این فقط یه آزمایش بود و دقیقا همونی شد که می خواستم.