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Plus a little enlightment on……
Thanksgiving turkey dinner’s most prominent side…
The Underappreciated Potato
Over the past few decades, diet trends such as Keto and Atkins among others, have done a
good job training us. Carbohydrates bad! Starchy carbs, even worse! Poor potato! 🙁
.
Not so fast The potato grows buried deep underground, in dirt, absorbing minerals and
cofactors that actually make it an authentic and especially rich source of Vitamin C, along
with potassium, B6, folate, niacin, phosphorus, manganese, magnesium, and even protein.
Potatoes alone provide enough hearty nourishment to have sustained 1/2 of the Irish population
in the 1800s.
Potatoes are resistant starch with natural prebiotics that stimulate the growth and activity of
beneficial bacteria in the colon. They are slow to digest, especially when combined with
protein and fat to stay satiated longer. This helps balance the endocrine system, calms stress
hormones, stabilizes blood sugars, and helps to convert fat into energy.
Natural sources of vitamin C are essential for collagen production which composes 1/3 of
bone tissue. It forties all of our tissues, especially skin and our vascular system with the
integrity it needs to maintain strength, the same way mortar holds together a brick wall
FYI: Please don’t mistake Vitamin C imposter ascorbic acid, which is only a small slice of the vitamin C complex, for real food derived Vitamin C. Ascorbic acid lacks the necessary cofactors that make vitamin C work. Ascorbic acid is very useful as a food preservative. It’s acidic, therefore it kills bacteria, but so does apple cider vinegar. How ascorbic acid came to be classified as Vitamin C is an FDA story for another time.
Steaming potatoes preserves more of the Vitamin C than boiling. For Thanksgiving dinner I remember my mother steaming potatoes in a big stovetop pressure cooker before we called it steaming. It was a heavy silverish post with a lid that locked. She had to grab the two big
handles with both hands wrapped in potholders to move it to the sink. Then the work of mashing those potatoes with butter and heavy cream she melted together on our old gas stove. Thanksgiving dinners are special because they are memory makers. I hope you have some
memories too and make some new ones. I digress…
Boiling will leach out 1/3 – 1/2 Vitamin C, but you can save that water and add it as stock to a turkey vegetable soup that requires little sort. There are lots of recipes on line. Your creation can be frozen for a later date; convenient, hearty, and economical.
Boiling or steaming potatoes then letting them chill helps to boost and preserve the vitamins and minerals.
Baking loses 35% of Vit C but not potassium.
Frying increases concentration of vitamin C and potassium from loss of water, adding more calories from fat. Lard is the best fat for frying as it does not convert to trans fat at high heat.
Don’t peel the potatoes ! Retain peels for higher concentrations of the good stuff that’s in the skin and just underneath.
My recipe: Easy & Nutritious Pee Wee Potatos
1 – 1 lb bag of Pee Wee Potatos
Steam until tender for about 12 minutes.
3 cloves of minced garlic.
2 tbs cilantro or other herb – parsley, thyme, whatever suits you.
2 tbs olive oil
Modify garlic and cilantro to your taste
Toss cooked potatoes with other ingredients and serve as a side or refrigerate for later.
Potato Irish History
Much of the Irish population relied on the vitamin rich potato for sustenance until the great potato famine of the mid 1800s. This is an interesting short 7 minute BBC video of how the potato famine lit the fire under the great Irish Migration to our shores in the mid 1800s.
Best Wishes To You And Yours For A Happy Thanksgiving !!
Remember to practice gratitude and embrace the positive….know that with this, every cell in
your body smiles !!
Now please pass me some of those underappreciated potatoes !
For 95 years Standard Process has been producing their various Vitamin C formulas from fruits
and vegetables grown on their organic farm in Wisconsin.
Cataplex C – potent support for immunity
Cataplex AC – extra support for mucosal linings
Cataplex ACP – extra support for vascular integrity
C Synergy – extra support for collagen
Real Vitamin C is a component of their many multi targeted tissue formulas.
“ Maintaining order rather than correcting disorder is the ultimate principal of wisdom…..”
The Nei Jing, 2nd Century BCE.
Email: clarkacupuncture@me.com
Text: 305-342-9365
C: 305-342-9365