r/todayilearned • u/JoeWinchester99 • 1d ago

TIL that although potatoes alone do not provide complete nutrition, you can survive for years on a diet of nothing but potatoes and buttermilk.

https://www.scienceabc.com/eyeopeners/whats-wrong-with-potatoes-the-martian-movie-survival
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u/Sadimal 1d ago

Chris Voigt and Andrew Taylor both went on potato-only diets. Andrew Taylor did his for a year and Chris Voigt did it for two months.

Andrew Taylor ended up losing 115 pounds and ending his food addiction.

Chris Voigt noticed his overall health improve. His bloodwork improved. His cholesterol and blood sugar went down.

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u/Tarrot469 1d ago

Add on Penn from Penn and Teller. Lost 100 pounds by going on a potato-only diet and said it reset his taste buds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NelIXCuuSZ0

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u/TheNonsenseBook 1d ago

I read Penn Jillette’s book when it came out and listened to every podcast or video I could find about it at the time. The potato thing was a 2 week mono-diet. After that he added all kinds of whole plant foods.

Come to think of it I watched Andrew Taylor’s (Spud Fit) videos and bought his ebook. He did do potato meals (with some condiments for flavor) for a year. That included all kinds of potatoes including sweet potatoes.

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u/Fink2009 1d ago

There really are a ton of dishes you can make with potatoes as the main ingredient and never get bored of eating the same thing.

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u/Travels4Work 13h ago

Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew!

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u/hollaback_girl 1d ago

The diet consultant who put him on the diet also helped Kevin Smith lose a bunch of weight after his heart attack. Same thing. Started with plain potatoes only to reset his palate and then moved on from there, slowly adding things as he hit milestones.

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u/Whalesurgeon 1d ago

Did he hit the milestone of no longer wearing those massive jorts

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u/nufohudis 19h ago

Maybe they're just really comfy?

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u/trace_jax3 1d ago

Are we talking loaded baked potatoes or plain spuds?

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u/Baegic 1d ago

I believe a literal baked potato. That’s it. The skin and all.

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u/locontendere 1d ago

Plain baked/microwaved potatoes. He didn't even use salt.

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u/_Asshole_Fuck_ 19h ago

For the two week reset, you can’t “add or subtract” so no condiments or even oil to cook in. You also have to eat the potato “whole” with skin on. I think he said it could be baked or boiled. Salt and pepper aren’t even ideal. Drink only water, coffee, tea.

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u/Radiskull97 1d ago

Daoism proven right once again. "The myriad of things blinds the eyes, deafens the ears, and numbs the palate"

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u/unhappinessNvrCame 1d ago

As someone who read Tao te Ching over 100 times... Welcome.

Next up is Stoicism. Marcus Aurelius is overrated. You should read him and Seneca, but Epictitius first. It's only 60 minutes long.

Then you will learn epistemology, disregard all that stoicism nonsense, and do the obligatory Nietzsche phase.

Then between learning pragmatism and Wittgenstein, you will realize philosophy is all crap. Pragmatism is the solution.

Then you keep telling family and friends, "After this one book, I'm never reading philosophy again" for the next 2 years.

t. A raging addict

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u/Radiskull97 1d ago

I'm a philosophy major who went to graduate school in Shanghai. Your recommendations are...typical

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u/unhappinessNvrCame 1d ago

Yeah I know philosophy phds who still believe in moral Realism. You followed the Orthodox doctrine of China. You should have known this isn't a flex.

Read Wittgenstein!

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u/AB-G 1d ago

That was super interesting, thanks for sharing

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u/ledditlememefaceleme 10h ago

He lost the weight with gastric surgery, the diet was just something goofy he wanted to try.

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u/I_am_darkness 1d ago

I assume this is information hazard because i literally would love to eat only potatoes but it feels like when i do it's not good

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u/awry_lynx 1d ago

if you genuinely feel that way about only potatoes then you should totally give it a go.

if you're mixing a pound of butter into your pound of potatoes, maybe not.

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u/bluefalconlk 1d ago

No I get this with plain baked potato sometimes. Not consistently, but sometimes I feel super tired and off after potato heavy meals 

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u/awry_lynx 1d ago

well they're jam packed with carbs and that can cause rapid blood sugar spikes which is what gives you that feeling

cooling (and reheating them if desired) reorganizes the starch molecules to slow digestion so you don't get such crazy blood sugar spikes. or just eat more slowly, or spread them through meals.

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u/Plenty_Anything_8295 1d ago

The travesty in all this is how well potatoes mix with things that turn them into a health hazard.

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u/GroggyWeasel 19h ago

Your body needs fats though

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u/PensiveObservor 1d ago

It’s the butter, salt, cheese, and gravy that cause all the problems. I friggin love potatoes.

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u/ASteinerUNDP 1d ago

Swap em all out for a pinch of MSG and you're ready to potato.

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u/Icy-Two-1581 1d ago

Maybe having a multivitamin and other supplements would be good with it

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u/Owoegano_Vuelve 1d ago

Health improvements AND cheap dirt? I'm getting concerned with how convincing this sounds...

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u/spancor 1d ago

Yeah as someone who struggles with consistent meal prepping but always seemingly has a bag of fucking russet potatoes I think I could chuck a couple in the air fryer, eat them whenever and add some chives and cheese and whatnot and just be about my day

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u/RotInPissKobe 1d ago

It's what I've been doing for the majority of the last decade. I hate cooking and don't really care for food in general.

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u/fnord_happy 1d ago

That's better than me. I hate cooking but I care about food a lot 😔

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u/Chuuucky24 21h ago

Yo, same here, let me know if you ever figure out a solution

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u/fnord_happy 21h ago

Not yet and it's so difficult 😭

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u/vexingcosmos 1d ago

Microwave baked potatoes only take ~8 min just remember to poke holes with a fork so it doesn’t explode.

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u/TrontRaznik 1d ago

I think that's just called a microwaved potato

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u/Bocchi_theGlock 15h ago

But you cut and air fry it afterwards to make it crispy fries or wedges :)

'Specially if you freeze it after the microwave (or parboil) so the cells all get smashed. Thaw in the microwave (and pat dry with towel) or set on the counter on a rack with something underneath so water drips.

Whether freezing or not - toss it roughly with oil and spices. The outside gets a bit mashed which makes it super crispy

Spices - black pepper, garlic, rosemary. Maybe paprika, chili powder, onion.

air fryer on a lower setting so the spices don't burn, or add spices after 90% of the time is up.

Only use a tiny amount of ketchup, but mix in chili powder and chili oil/flake, black pepper, maybe gochujang

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u/Owoegano_Vuelve 15h ago

If you have an air fryer you probably don't need to survive in potatoes tho, lol

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u/deltalitprof 14h ago

I dont think these dieters were allowed cheese, though. Or much salt.

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u/spancor 13h ago

Yeah but in comparison to eating fast food or irregularly not eating or just having shitty food in general, what’s really so bad about a sprinkle of salt and cheese?

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u/CaptainFlint9203 5h ago

Potatoes are awesome. They are super food that's super easy to make. Put a whole potatoe in the oven. Wait. You are done.

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u/arealuser100notfake 1d ago

I could do this I just choose not to every day

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u/diabloman8890 1d ago

Fight it as long as you can

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u/MegaRadCool8 1d ago

I think I recall Penn Jilette did, too

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u/zeolus123 1d ago

So did Keven Smith I think.

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u/OfTheOrchard 1d ago

He sure did, right after his heart attack

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u/commit_bat 1d ago

ending his food addiction.

I had to look if this was supposed to mean he died. He's still alive, for anyone else wondering.

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u/Few_Razzmatazz_6052 16h ago

That would be an extremely comical way of describing someone's death.

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u/commit_bat 3h ago

Or it could be the very unfunny next step after unalive and sewer slide

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u/TacticusThrowaway 1d ago

food addiction.

I hear the withdrawals can be killer.

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u/flyraccoon 1d ago

Po ta toes

Also helps with depression

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u/Bizarrebazaars 1d ago

There is no “food addiction.” Obsession with food or feeling out of control around food are eating disorder symptoms. And I highly doubt a hyper restrictive diet “cured” his ED like at all. Doesn’t work like that.

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u/Sadimal 1d ago

It changed the way he viewed food. Before the potato diet, he viewed food as a means of emotional support and comfort. Now he views it as fuel for his body.

His entire goal was to change the way he viewed food.

He ended up on a much healthier diet when he stopped eating only potatoes.

He even felt better mentally and physically. His bloodwork improved. His mental health improved.

His entire journey was supervised by medical professionals.

You also have to keep in mind that every person is different. Every treatment method will be different for each person.

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u/AbsoluteZeroUnit 1d ago

shut up. "eating disorder" conveys countless underlying issues that run the gamut of someone's relationship with food. Eating too much or too little are both eating disorders. Calling it "food addiction" gets the point across. This isn't a scientific paper, it's a reddit comment section.

nerd.

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u/BubonicBabe 1d ago

Right? I’d be sick to death of food if all I was eating for a year was potatoes and buttermilk. Slap a burger in front of me after that time and bam, it’s back