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So you know how it's common knowledge that the bulk of nutrients in things like apples and pears, how about potato? My family eat a lot of peeled and steamed potato, and I always eat pumpkin instead. But I was wondering if it would be worthwhile taking the potato peelings, fry them up in some duck fat and eat that?

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5 Answers

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I guess the main reason why you should peel them is the glycoalkaloids in the skin. Saponin and solanine and other defense machanisms are concentrated there.

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So you are saying eating the skin is NOT advisable? Is that the case with all potatoes, sweet included? – Rob Oct 29 at 8:54
Interesting hadnt thought about this. Thats the whole reason we avoid the green bits (solanine). Thats sad, makes them less nutritious. I dont think this would apply to sweet potatoes, they arent nightshades.. – Jamie Oct 29 at 11:15
Sry to disappoint you, but sweet potatoes have defense machanisms as well, such as trypsin inhibitors, goitrogens and antimicrobial substances and I guess at least some of them are stored in the skin. This will be the same with every tuber that contains a lot of energy, it just wouldn't be economic for the plant not to protect them. – Thomy Oct 30 at 7:30
IDK about the rest of those, but its worth noting goitergens are cooked out. – Jamie Nov 4 at 3:28
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I cant remember whether potatoes have potassium, or some other mineral, but its primarily in the peels. I always eat unpeeled potatoes now.

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This might help:

http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.dk/2010/09/potatoes-and-human-health-part-i.html http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.dk/2010/09/potatoes-and-human-health-part-ii.html

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see this thread:

"Fungal infections, lectins etc.. I would encourage you to still peel your sweet potatoes"

For more Paleo Diet hacks: Why are sweet potatoes better than regular potatoes? - PaleoHacks.com http://paleohacks.com/questions/18825/why-are-sweet-potatoes-better-than-regular-potatoes#ixzz2Ah3ejGDN

Also:

"Glycoalkaloids are why you can't eat white potatoes raw. It's why green white potatoes are scary. Absolutely always peel your white potatoes.

As you can see on the charts, some of the skins are low in glycoalkanoids, not something I'd risk, many of us that are clearly gluten intolerant, used to eat gluten with no "apparent" discomfort... People have died from glycoalkanoids, the US govt tightly regulates it now" (Stephen-Aegis) For more Paleo Diet hacks: Why are sweet potatoes better than regular potatoes? - PaleoHacks.com http://paleohacks.com/questions/18825/why-are-sweet-potatoes-better-than-regular-potatoes#ixzz2Ah49KhjV

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Awesome, thanks for the info. I didn't realise the toxic content of potatoes, I pretty much thought they were avoided in paleo eating due to the high glycemic index. – Rob Oct 29 at 21:40
yeah, it's one of those things that I should be better about checking. it feels like there are so many things we can't eat for startch, and how bad can potatoes be! but just goes to show you, a lot of times, vegetables can have more toxins than animal products. (this is a perfecthealthdiet/chris kresser theme). I feel like as a kid, with a mom who bought tons of potatoes for cheap, I definitely ate some greenish potatoes. ah well. – elf27 Oct 29 at 22:04
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As a personal preference, I love oven-baked potatoes with crisp skin. As long as I can't see any green tones in the skin, I munch it happily. As a kid, the family staple was potatoes boiled in the skins, which we peeled at the table before adding generous amounts of butter.

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mmmm somehow the act of peeling potatoes by hand then adding copious amounts of butter sounds way more tasty than boiled buttered potatoes. – elf27 Oct 29 at 19:07

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