You say “potato”; I say controlled substance. Anyone who has ever gone back for just one more roastie will feel some sympathy for the financier Guy Hands, who reportedly has had hypnotherapy to cure his craving for roast potatoes.
“I’d eat 10 roast potatoes easily,” he said. According to a recent interview, Hands would order roast potatoes and gravy in restaurants. “Forget the rest. Just give me roast potatoes and gravy.” He had hypnosis, “to get myself to decide I hated potatoes … I said I need to stop desperately wanting to eat potatoes.”
Potatoes are a member of the solanaceae (or nightshade) family – which also includes tobacco. They contain nicotine, but you would have to eat almost 2kg – even more than Hands was getting through – to get the same amount as one cigarette. Their wild deliciousness must be down to something else. Potatoes have a high glycaemic index – they quickly increase blood sugar levels. Although roast potatoes have not, to my knowledge, been the subject of a controlled study, junk-food companies have long known that sugar, salt and fat – and roast potatoes are swimming in it – trigger the brain’s “pleasure” centres and override satiety signals.
Hands, who is diabetic, said he was aware potatoes were bad for his health. “I found potatoes spiked my sugars more than any other thing out there.” People with diabetes, says Anna Daniels, a registered dietitian, should be wary of consuming too much carbohydrate “that would increase blood sugar levels”.
Are there any benefits to eating lots of spuds? “Not lots of potatoes,” says Daniels. “But, included in a healthy balanced diet, they have some health benefits. They contain vitamin C, potassium, other minerals and fibre.”
Depending on how they are cooked, roast potatoes “could be really high in fat. If they were cooked in olive oil, that would be better than if they were cooked in goose fat or lard. Any excess of fat could contribute to high cholesterol. I imagine they’ve got lots of salt added as well, so that could increase blood pressure.” And carbohydrate “in excess will lead to weight gain and in turn could actually lead to type 2 diabetes”.
Of course, enjoy roasties in moderation, says Daniels: “But if eaten in excess it’s going to be a problem because it’s just stored as fat.” Be prepared for big potato to start fighting back.
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