Tuesday, November 30, 2010

American loses over a stone on 'potato diet'



An American who ate nothing but potatoes for two months has astounded nutritionists by claiming to be healthier than when he started.

Chris Voigt, 45, who is head of the Washington State Potato Commission, embarked on his "spud diet" in an attempt to show that the vegetable is high in nutrients.

He was protesting against the US Department of Agriculture which is due to release new, more diverse school lunch menus replacing potatoes with other vegetables.

Mr Voigt, who was more than 14 stone at the outset, said that by eating only potatoes he had lost a stone and a half

He also reduced his blood sugar level and his cholesterol dropped by more than one third.

He said: "I've been struggling being borderline high cholesterol for four or five years. I absolutely feel great. I've always had lots of good energy on this diet, I've had no strange side effects, I sleep well at night."

During the diet he consumed 400lbs of potatoes, about 20 individual vegetables a day.

He ate them boiled, mashed, sliced, fried and roasted. On Thanksgiving he crafted mashed potato into the shape of a turkey and carved it.

Mr Voigt said potatoes have more potassium than bananas, and that one serving provides roughly 45 per cent of the daily recommended value for Vitamin C.

The only negative health impact was a lack of some fat-soluble vitamins such as Vitamins A and E, he said.

He accepted that a diet of just potatoes was not sustainable in the long term but said his experiment had shown how "truly healthy" the vegetable is.

Despite eating so many potatoes Mr Voigt said he still loves them.

He celebrated the end of his 60-day diet with a meal of fajitas and tacos, and some grilled potatoes.

Read More

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/8172056/American-loses-over-a-stone-on-potato-diet.html

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