What really hit me that all this superfood shit was nonsense was when I watched a real nutritionist answer a question about “the best superfood” and they said “potatoes.”
I am going to consider this a success story, given that you were transparent about the provenance of this factoid, and you corrected yourself. Yay for learning!
Yes, I did delight in getting to accurately use the word “factoid”; it’s useful for working through the trauma of learning that “factoid” doesn’t just mean a neat tidbit of fun facts, but rather quite the opposite. And for a “learning is fun” kind of gal like me, misinformation masked as genuine learning is deeply unfun — that is, unless we make the factoid itself our new object of study.
Corn beats it out, and by some reckonings so does rice. Pumpkins too.
There are a few more exotic plants like tigernut and duckweed that are supposed to be really high, but not many people eat those as a staple crop. Palm oil and sugar cane are supposed to be super high too, though you probably don’t want to be eating huge quantities of straight oil and sugar.
Finally there are a few tropical trees like jackfruit and breadfruit that produce enormous quantities of calories once mature. They have a huge advantage from their large leaf crowns and root systems (that they don’t have to periodically regrow like annual plants) + the tropical weather allowing production for the entire year.
Yes, but no. Yes it’s a “super food” in the sense that they are easy to grow and are nutritious and contain almost everything the body needs, but you’d have to eat like twenty kilos a day to survive on them solely.
Most likely also because of their food. Diabetes, gluten intolerance, food allergies, vitamin deficiency from eating way too much of the one thing that grew and didn’t die that harvest. Food related issues were all rampant, people just died of them.
You’re not gonna believe why child mortality was so high.
Also, the (often) improper diets of pregnant ladies, especially among the poorer classes of society, that meant a lack of essential vitamins and minerals, put mothers too at great risk. To compound the issue, matters got out of hand during the periods when the annual Nile floods did not materialize. With the mother dead, the newborn faced an uphill task in surviving the odds. Feeding a motherless child was one of the greatest difficulties that the ancient Egyptians encountered. The milk of livestock – cows and goats – was the only substitute to natural mother’s milk. How many could afford it? This is where the aunts or other close family members of the baby stepped in to carry out this function and keep the baby well-fed.
Now I’m starting to think that maybe Ray Cronise’s “potato diet” aka “Nutritarian diet” might not be so insane after all.
It certainly seemed to work for Penn Jillette and Kevin Smith. It’s extreme, but might work for certain people. I don’t know if I would have the discipline personally.
What really hit me that all this superfood shit was nonsense was when I watched a real nutritionist answer a question about “the best superfood” and they said “potatoes.”
Tbf, potatoes are fucking dope
It’s true, potatoes are one of the few singular plants that can provide almost all of a person’s nutritional needs with barely any other supplement.
More protein per acre than soy.
A factoid brought to you by the National Potato Council, who told me this once and I’ve never bothered to fact check it.
Edit: It’s a lie! What other lies have lobbing groups told me???
I am going to consider this a success story, given that you were transparent about the provenance of this factoid, and you corrected yourself. Yay for learning!
In fact it’s the most factoid it could be, an outright falsehood shared as a fact.
Yes, I did delight in getting to accurately use the word “factoid”; it’s useful for working through the trauma of learning that “factoid” doesn’t just mean a neat tidbit of fun facts, but rather quite the opposite. And for a “learning is fun” kind of gal like me, misinformation masked as genuine learning is deeply unfun — that is, unless we make the factoid itself our new object of study.
The system works!
This is about as good of an outcome as any can hope for in a “long” comment chain on the internet.
we did itYeah, the returns really become increasingly marginal the longer a comment chain goes on. ^(I think I’m committed to the bit though)
I hadn’t ever thought to look it up over the last 10-12 years! Imagine that.
iirc its more calories/acre than… well lliterally anything else. Not sure about any specific nutrient though.
Corn beats it out, and by some reckonings so does rice. Pumpkins too.
There are a few more exotic plants like tigernut and duckweed that are supposed to be really high, but not many people eat those as a staple crop. Palm oil and sugar cane are supposed to be super high too, though you probably don’t want to be eating huge quantities of straight oil and sugar.
Finally there are a few tropical trees like jackfruit and breadfruit that produce enormous quantities of calories once mature. They have a huge advantage from their large leaf crowns and root systems (that they don’t have to periodically regrow like annual plants) + the tropical weather allowing production for the entire year.
Cheap, can be made into a variety of dishes, easy to prepare, really a winner allround.
Yes, but no. Yes it’s a “super food” in the sense that they are easy to grow and are nutritious and contain almost everything the body needs, but you’d have to eat like twenty kilos a day to survive on them solely.
Also, they can’t fly and potato eyes do not emit lasers.
I’m OK with that. I don’t need my potatoes demanding that I kneel before Zod.
Source? Do we know for certain? Maybe the potatoes are deceiving everyone, it has been confirmed that they are sentient.
…and now there’s diabetes.
Wait until you find out about the other “super” foods
Rather broccoli. Mulberry and flaxseed too. Who knew, our pre-agriculture ancestors ate the healtiest.
and lived to the ripe age of 42.
But not because of their food.
Most likely also because of their food. Diabetes, gluten intolerance, food allergies, vitamin deficiency from eating way too much of the one thing that grew and didn’t die that harvest. Food related issues were all rampant, people just died of them.
Uhm, i’m talking pre-agriculture. Hunter-gatherer style, lots of seeds, some roots and vegetables, berries fruits, sometimes meat or fish.
Dying of hunger, so healthy.
/s
They live.
A plastic fannypack, so primitive!
/s
But even more likely is child mortality bringing down the averages.
You’re not gonna believe why child mortality was so high.
It was also the food.
Y’know, I had a feeling this was coming.
Now I’m starting to think that maybe Ray Cronise’s “potato diet” aka “Nutritarian diet” might not be so insane after all.
It certainly seemed to work for Penn Jillette and Kevin Smith. It’s extreme, but might work for certain people. I don’t know if I would have the discipline personally.