Many moons ago, one of my favorite non-major classes at BYU was beginning genealogy. And one of the first assignments was to get the oldest living relative to write a personal history. As it was going to be graded and I had three living grandparents, I felt it best to take no chances. So I asked all three to write their histories.
My grandmothers obliged with a few pages each. My grandfather, on the other hand, took the request most seriously and sent me 64 handwritten pages covering his life up until about the age of 17, when he enlisted in the army to fight in Europe during WWI. Tax season then arrived and he died before writing any more.
In his amazing history he wrote that as a premature infant and owing to the scarcity of milk, he was nourished on raw potato juice. I always thought that was odd. In the early 1900s had women even then chosen to bottle feed their babies instead of breast feeding? Or did she have the same problem that I had and my daughter has—being unable to make produce enough milk for our babies? Of course, I’ll never know. But I do wonder about that potato juice. (And by the way, I am not recommending the practice, just reporting that it was done.) An hour-long session with Google Lady didn’t help.
I’m not too sure about this topic. I think of potatoes more as comfort food. Baked potato, potato soup, French fries, potato chips, mashed potatoes. They aren’t necessarily the healthiest choices. However, I’ve seen little snippets here and there about the medicinal uses of potatoes. Could there be any medicinal value to them?
Of course, chili peppers and eggplant, members of the same nightshade family as potatoes, are quite medicinal. Cayenne is elevated to almost rock star status with its reputation for dissolving blood clots and relieving arthritis pain, while eggplant resolves cancerous skin growths.
We’re well aware that potatoes are easy to grow and quite nutritious. Some researchers suggest that the protein content of these tubers is comparable to that of whole eggs[1], with a medium size potato providing 45% of the USRDA of vitamin C, 18% of potassium, and 10% of vitamin B6, as well as trace amounts of numerous other vitamins and minerals.[2]
Do common spuds actually exert any proven medicinal effects? (For the smart alecks in the room, I mean effects beyond being made into vodka. Sheesh.) Let’s take a look.
EFFECTIVE AGAINST
PREPARATIONS
Juice: Wash 2-3 large potatoes. Chop and place in a blender or food processor and add a little water. Process until smooth. Pour through cheesecloth or a dishtowel and squeeze to extract all the juice. Yield: about 1 cup. Consume 1 hour before breakfast.[7]
Peels: I couldn’t track down whether the peels were eaten raw, applied topically, or boiled and used as a tea.
Raw potato: Slice or grate the potato, as indicated.
USAGE
- Oral inflammation
- Grated potato, held between clenched teeth
- Swollen gums
- Raw juice and skins[10]
- Toothache[11], when combined with boiled onion bulb[12]
- Irritated
- Raw potato slice[13]
- Headache
- Abscess
- Grated potato and onions[26]
- Burns
- Inflammation
- Puffiness around eyes
- Spider bites
- Raw potato poultice, with potato shreds placed between layers of gauze and replaced the the potatoes dry out.
- Tumors
- Raw juice and skins[37]
- Warts
- Diuretic properties[40]
- Mumps
- Roast potato bandage tied around throat[21]
- Rickets
- Patient washed in hot potato water[22]
- Scurvy
- Raw juice and skins[41]
- Tumors
- Tea[42]
So there you go. There is little in the way of clinical trials, but a long history of usage in traditional healing. If all else has failed, maybe potatoes will work.
Links to related posts:
[1] https://scienceinpoland.pl/en/news/news%2C95194%2Cscientists-poznan-confirm-healing-properties-potato-juice.html
[2] https://www.utupub.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/102101/diss2014M%C3%A4kinen.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y
[3] https://research.manchester.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/investigating-the-mechanism-of-action-of-potato-extract-against-h
[4] https://scienceinpoland.pl/en/news/news%2C95194%2Cscientists-poznan-confirm-healing-properties-potato-juice.html
[5] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25128800/
[6] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27567589/
[7] https://drfarrahmd.com/2019/04/benefits-of-drinking-raw-potato-juice/
[8] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10851437/
[9] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10851437/
[10] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10851437/
[11] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10936038/
[12] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10936038/
[13] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8778718/
[14] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10851437/
[15] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10851437/
[16] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8778718/
[17] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10851437/
[18] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10851437/
[19] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10851437/
[20] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8206464/
[21] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2629017/
[22] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2629017/
[23] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10851437/
[24] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10851437/
[25] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2629017/
[26] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10936038/
[27] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10851437/
[28] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10851437/
[29] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10936038/
[30] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9370752/
[31] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8778718/
[32] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10936038/
[33] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10851437/
[34] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10936038/
[35] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10936038/
[36] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10936038/
[37] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10851437/
[38] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10851437/
[39] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2629017/
[40] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10936038/
[41] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10851437/
[42] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27567589/
I found an interesting article on the history of formulas for babies but no reference to potatoes.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.contemporarypediatrics.com/view/concise-history-infant-formula-twists-and-turns-included
Exile1981
Found out Nestle makes a potato based formula.
Deletehttps://www.potatogrower.com/2018/07/nestl%C3%A9-patents-potatobased-infant-formula
Exile1981
Thanks for posting, Mark. I would never have guessed that there would be a commercially produced potato formula.
DeleteI follow a homesteader's blog who used a potato to draw out and cure an infection in her thumb. Would it have resolved on it's own, or was it the potato? Food, (pun intended) for thought.
ReplyDeleteIt will be something to think about. Would the infection have resolved on its own? So many of our little ills seem to take care of themselves.
Deletehttps://www.potatopro.com/news/2018/nestle-patents-infant-formula-based-potato-protein-microparticles
ReplyDeleteSNIP Summary
The Nestle patent describes an infant formula based on potato protein, which is naturally absent in the major allergens found in milk and soy. Accordingly, the described product may provide a naturally hypoallergenic infant formula that is suitable for infants with cow's milk protein allergy.
In addition, the patent describes an improved process for producing an infant formula based on potato protein, wherein the process utilises potato protein in the form of potato protein microparticles. This enables the processing during production of mixtures comprising an increased Total Solids concentration and provides improved spray drying.
The use of potato protein in an infant formula is advantageous as it has a well balanced amino acid profile, which is closer to that of human milk than rice or soy protein. Accordingly, less addition of free amino acids is required to provide a composition with the required nutritional profile, which renders the resulting product more cost effective and gives it a more palatable taste.
Moreover, as a result of their lower allergen profile, the potato protein components do not require extensive hydrolysis, which provides significant benefits in terms of cost and for the development of the infant, because the intact or slightly hydrolysed proteins facilitate improved gut maturation.
The need for an emulsifier may be reduced or removed for an infant formula based on potato protein, because the potato protein itself may provide any necessary emulsifier properties. In addition, use of potato protein provides for good acceptance, for example in terms of taste and texture of the infant formula.
It's probable that Grandfather was fed from a wet nurse AND potato juice to extend the limited supply.
What people will do in extremis to keep the baby fed and the only available fertile chicken eggs warmed to hatch (if you recall that story Jennefer).
I do remember how your grandmother kept the fertile eggs warm and safe.
DeleteThat article was an amazing find, Michael. Thank you so much for sharing it, though I do hope we won't have to resort to potato juice for babies. Then again, I guess things could be worse, and maybe potato juice won't be so bad. I guess it might rank up there with the donkey milk for babies post of a few months ago.
I don’t know anything about potatoes as baby formula, but my great-grandmother always told us that if you could grow potatoes, you wouldn’t starve. HER grandparents came over here from Ireland during the potato famine (with 10 children and they had 10 more when they arrived here!) and that was the advice told down through the generations.
ReplyDelete