A short piece of background on the white potato and #Whole30: When we first created the program, white potatoes werent allowed because they werent Paleo, and we were very concerned with maintaining a Paleo framework. That was relatively short-lived, however. Soon, we moved away from Is it Paleo? and towards, Is it healthy? Given the way most of us (over)eat white potatoes, or indulge in the form of fries, chips, and the like, we decided to leave them out of the program as a way to force people to expand their vegetable horizons, and to keep them out of trouble by not allowing them to over-consume what might be a less healthy choice for their metabolic context. About a year ago, however, we started the discussion, Just because people might overeat this food isnt a good enough reason by itself to leave it out. After all, bacon, nut butters, dried fruit, and fruit juice are all technically compliant on the program, and people are just as like to over-use these foods in a way thats not psychologically healthy, or physically healthy for their context. Contrary to general belief, potatoes are a nutrient-dense food. If youre especially active or an athlete, they are a good carbohydrate source (especially post-workout), without any of the potential downsides of grains. To keep the program rules logical and consistent, we could no longer see a reason to keep this one variety of potato out, while allowing things like taro, yuca, or yams. However, we still had to address the issue of fries and chips--because if white potatoes are back in, what about french fries fried in canola oil from your favorite fast-food joint? Obviously, fries and chips miss the point of the Whole30 entirely, so we created language to remind people that these foods-with-no-brakes are not acceptable as a vegetable on the program (or anywhere else in real life, for that matter). Just because white potatoes are now allowed doesnt meant theyre a good choice for everyone. You must take into account your individual physical and psychological context. If youre sedentary, overweight, and metabolically challenged, you probably dont need to eat potatoes at all during your Whole30. If youre healthy, lean, and an athete, youre probably psyched to have yet another healthy carb source to add to the rotation. Hope that helps to address the questions surrounding the rule change. Thanks for your continued support--now lets get ready for the August Whole30! Dallas & Melissa Hartwig, creators, Whole30 program
Posted on: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 18:53:05 +0000
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