"Do you know that eating raw potato is poisonous?"
A friend munched on while we were making some lunch conversations of my recent fascination on raw foods. He was not the first person to tell me that. The first person who gave me that info, warned by not to go raw on potatos. I did give him a little old home folk remedy piece, the raw potato juice, rich in potassium and other minerals is use to treat gout,rheumatism and arthritis.
My aunt's brother in-law has been drinking raw potato juice every morning on a daily basis for the past few years is still very much alive and without any side effects.
Intrigued and wondered if this is yet another urban legend, a false or misleading fact not verified but passed down by many innocent folks who take word of mouth as facts.
So ok, we are told since young, that we shouldn't eat green potatos or potatos with sprouts runs true, well partly.
Potatos originated from South America, comes from the Solanaceae nightshade family, it is one of the most commonly cultivated tubers in the world.
Potato contains Solanine & chaconine, glycoalkaloids that is concentrated in the leaves and the sprouts of the plant. However it is not the green in the potato that is poisonous. Its the chlorophyll that gives the Green. Potatos contains chlorophyll resulting from excessive exposure to light. This same process of photosynthesis that produces chlorophyll also produces solanine, that are toxic and affects the body's nervous system.
So avoid eating the green tubers or new sprouts, remove any of the budding sprouts, remove the green skin. Cooking the spud above 170 °C or 340 °F does destroy some concentration.
Solanine mostly contains just below the skin of the spud, but in some spuds, the level varies. So you could probably remove the skin and still able to eat the green spud.
Fun facts :
Non-organic potatos contain high concentration of pesticides. They may contain dieldrin (lung cancer) and methamidophos (muscle and motor cranial paralysis), and aldicarb (respiratory paralysis). So where possible, eat Organic Potatos.
Not so Fun Fact:
Wanna know what the medical term for Potato Poisoning called?
Solanum tuberosum poisoning.
Symptoms
* Hypothermia (lower than normal body temperature)
* Paralysis
* Shock
* Fever
* Slowed breathing
* Dilated pupils
* Vision changes
* Stomach or abdominal pain
* Vomiting
* Diarrhea
* Slow pulse
* Headache
* Delirium
* Loss of sensation
* Hallucinations
Quick cure : Induce vomitting, swallow activated charcoal, admit to emergency.
More Fun Facts on the uses of Raw potatos :
Cure Common Warts
Raw potatoes are chock full of Potassium, Vitamin C and Iron. If you have a common wart you want to get rid of, cut off a piece off a raw potato. Rub the flesh side over the wart so it's completely covered with the juice. Then, discard the potato piece. Don't rinse the juice off. Do this daily until the wart is gone.
Soothe Minor Skin Burns
Another unusual use for a raw potato is to treat minor burns. The next time you get a burn, peel and dice up a small potato- or use a piece of a peeled potato, depending how large the affected area is- into fine pieces. Add a bit of tap water, just enough to make a paste. Apply the potato paste to the burn and let it set undisturbed for several minutes. You should feel relief from the pain.
Remove Berry Stains From Your Hands
Berry stains are tough to remove. Rub the stains with a peeled, raw potato, they should come right off! Finish by rinsing the juice and the berry stains off your hands with plenty of tap water.
Remove Excess Salt From Soups and Stews
Cut up one or two washed, raw potatoes and drop them into the pot. Allow the potato to cook for several minutes, then use a slotted spoon to remove the pieces. The potato will have absorbed the excess salt.
Get Rid of a Throbbing Headache
Slice the potato in half and place a piece on each temple. Gently rub your temples with the potato until the pain lets up.
Give Your Geraniums a Nutritional Boost
If you're planting young Geranium plants, or you have existing plants that are looking a little anemic, a raw potato can help make them grow better. Just cut up a small raw potato and place it into the hole along with the plant. To give existing Geranium plants a boost, dig some of the soil out and away from the stem. Place the pieces of raw potato around the stem, then replace the soil.
Raw Potato juice to your Car Washer
Add raw potato juice in your organic vegetable based environmentally friendly car detergent.
It helps disintegrate tough stains or spots on your car without damaging the paint work.
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