I’m not sure exactly what a ‘skinny’ is but it sounded good so I used it in this blog. First and foremost, we need to establish one thing right off the bat. There are actually two kinds of potatoes out there. The good potatoes and the bad potatoes. You need to be able to spot the bad ones as quickly as possible! They are out to get you and your plans for a healthy lifestyle. Geesch!
The good potatoes include those that are baked or boiled. Period. They will continue to stay pretty good too if you don’t try lathering them with margarine and salt prior to eating.:) The bad potatoes are pretty much any fried spud. This would include, but is not limited to, hash browns, French fries and potato chips. (In other words, three forms of potatoes that some of us absolutely crave. I’ve never understood how the Creator made everything we like to eat pretty much bad for us. I’m sure there are exceptions out there, I just can’t think of one right this minute).Note: Artwork is from Jeffrey's Art Blog
So, what makes the fried version so harmful? Well, besides having extra fat (oil) added to them, potatoes that are fried as chips or French fries can contain a substance called acrylamide. This is a toxic substance that forms in starchy foods when they are processed or cooked at high temperatures. There is currently little information about, and poor understanding of, how acrylamide is formed in some foods. It appears, though, to be produced naturally in some foods that have been cooked or processed at high temperature and the levels appear to increase with the duration of heating. The highest levels found so far were in starchy foods (potato and cereal products). Too bad, so sad! So, anyway, acrylamide has been shown to cause cancer in lab animals, but we don't know exactly what levels of acrylamide exposures are dangerous for humans. So, don’t freak out quite yet. If you apply enough of anything, you can turn that thing into a cancerous or harmful agent! As Henry David Thoreau once said, “All things in moderation.” (Actually I think it was some Roman proctorate named Terance, but that would be another tale). That thought, though, appears to be pretty much the ticket on most fried foods. You can eat them from time to time, just don’t make a regular thing of it!
OK, we all got that straight? Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to enjoy a boiled potato with some BBQ’d Chicken. What’s that you say?
No comments:
Post a Comment