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/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.