So, are potatoes deadly now?

[Chokkii]

I am limiting wheat due to gastric issues to see if it helps, and was excited to begin eating more potatoes and rice as a substitution. I was planning on maybe eating them 2-3 times per week with other, seasoned roast veggies + meat, or with a homemade coleslaw salad.

On my google travels I keep noticing people saying they cause kidney stones, even a thread on here yesterday implicated them in kidney disease, so what's the deal?

Does the average person have to limit spud use now, or is it all just internet based insanity?

My mum had a couple of kidney stones in her 30's, so that was very long ago, should I avoid them?

Here is what 2 Ai's sites stated
The risk of developing kidney stones is influenced by a variety of dietary factors, and while potatoes themselves aren't a major culprit for most people, certain types of kidney stones can be affected by what you eat.
The most common type of kidney stone is the calcium oxalate stone. Oxalate is a natural substance found in many foods. When oxalate levels are high in the urine, they can combine with calcium to form stones. Some foods that are particularly high in oxalates include spinach, rhubarb, almonds, and sweet potatoes.

Baked potatoes with the skin are also on some lists of high-oxalate foods. However, many experts and sources emphasize that it's more about the overall diet and a person's individual risk factors rather than a single food. For people who are prone to calcium oxalate stones, a key strategy is to manage their intake of high-oxalate foods and ensure they get enough calcium.

It's important to understand that a diet low in calcium can actually increase the risk of kidney stones. When you eat foods with oxalates along with foods rich in calcium (like milk, yogurt, or cheese), the calcium and oxalate can bind together in your intestines before they reach the kidneys. This prevents the oxalate from being absorbed and forming stones.

Other factors that can increase the risk of kidney stones include:

• High sodium intake: Eating a lot of salt can raise the amount of calcium in your urine, which increases the risk of stone formation.
• High animal protein intake: Diets rich in animal protein can increase uric acid production and lead to more acidic urine, contributing to both uric acid and calcium oxalate stones.
• Dehydration: Not drinking enough fluids is a major risk factor for all types of kidney stones.

Personaly I would'nt worry about it.

What???!!! I eat potatoes most days, often twice a day as I regularly have baked potato for my lunch. Didn’t know that about the skins being high in oxolates as I understand oxolates can hinder calcium absorption… I mostly eat them with cheese anyway.

I would think if you are looking at a carb replacement for wheat then potatoes are much better than artificial gluten free stuff.

Friend who has had trouble with kidney stones seems to live on tuna sandwiches !

Im not a fan of the potatoe.
I maybe have a jacket potato once twice a month.

This sounds like a case of a little knowledge being a dangerous thing.

Everything is bad for you if you take it in the wrong dose, even water. Eating potatoes 2-3 times a week is fine.

This is why we should steer clear of Dr Google.

It's all utter cobblers. Potatoes are fine. Unless you eat them if they've gone green. 😂

You're excited to begin eating more rice and potatoes??

Yes, i like rice, sushi, chilli, etc.
I also love seasoned baby spuds with all manner of stuff.
Tasty!

My post was semi humorous, but I do get dizzy sometimes with food alarmists online. Might as well just eat carpet tbh

Tbf a well aimed spud gun can hurt!!

Ok, just looked at oxalates and oh boy that could make a person freak out a bit.
Best to step away, indeed.

Artificial gluten free stuff often has potato flour in it (alongside corn).

I’m Coeliac so I probably eat potato in more forms than the average bear. I’m 53 and never had a kidney stone.

There are scare stories about every food, internet insanity indeed!

rice has arsenic in it ! Scary scary, look it up. But also, entire continents eat rice every day….

potatoes are scary?! Entire countries eat heavy potato based diets (Central Europe comes to mind)

potatoes are nutritious. Rice is fine. Any food or drink taken in insane quantities can kill (even water) ditch the internet maybe, but not the spuds 😁

Don't know, don't care, love a potato too much to look into it.

But completely unable to read "Kidney Stones!" Without hearing it in the voice of the doctor from Friends.

When I was 18 I had kidney surgery and kidney stones. I had the calcium type and was given a list of food to try and not too much of - I think it included spinach and beetroot. 20 years on I had forgotten this until just reading your thread - oops. Was never warned about potatoes by the urologist - I’d have remembered that one!

This from pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15826055/ Basically says boil the potatoes! Approximately 75% of all kidney stones are composed primarily of calcium oxalate, and hyperoxaluria is a primary risk factor for this disorder. Nine types of raw and cooked vegetables were analyzed for oxalate using an enzymatic method. There was a high proportion of water-soluble oxalate in most of the tested raw vegetables. Boiling markedly reduced soluble oxalate content by 30-87% and was more effective than steaming (5-53%) and baking (used only for potatoes, no oxalate loss). An assessment of the oxalate content of cooking water used for boiling and steaming revealed an approximately 100% recovery of oxalate losses. The losses of insoluble oxalate during cooking varied greatly, ranging from 0 to 74%. Because soluble sources of oxalate appear to be better absorbed than insoluble sources, employing cooking methods that significantly reduce soluble oxalate may be an effective strategy for decreasing oxaluria in individuals predisposed to the development of kidney stones.

I put an obscene amount of mozzarella in the mash last night.
My son laughed and offered to come back in ten minutes after I'd wrestled it from the pan and on to the plates.

It was good. Potatoes are good. Don't eat the green ones.

mozzarella in the mash

am trying this!

Mmm i prefer them steamed, but I often nuke them in the microwave to soften then bake 10 mins in oven with seasoning.

I guess microwaving doesn't obliterate the oxalates then?

Surely if they were that bad, anyone who ate them weekly would be filling up A&E....

Stones can form from uric acid as well, so we can't win whatever we eat!

Nightshades bad, wheat bad, meat bad, what's left guys?
Carpet, with maybe a side of dust.

Spuds are fine. Worry about the arsenic in your rice

Hardly ever have jacket potatoes as DH and DC not at all keen on them. DH doesn't like mash either unless shepherds pie etc. We probably eat potatoes in some form 2-3 out of 7 days. New pots with salad, roasties, new pots with fish, occasional chips.

The demonisation of the potato started when they were not considered 'one of your five a day' when that concept premiered. Previously, they were considered 'a good source of vitamin c'. I also don't recall anyone telling me diabetics had to avoid them until quite recently, but that could just be because I'm not a diabetic. Any specific health conditions aside, it's surely just moderation in everything that's the best approach.