November 1, 2017 • 40 mins
We have ZERO intention of eating less food! But if you had to pare down your pantry to the bare minimum, what are the only foods you'd need to survive? Is an all potato diet healthy? Plus, Will and Mango discuss the Woodstock for Fruit Lovers; why the Elderberry might be the most overlooked berry, and did Steve Jobs' strange diet affect his business decisions? Featuring Spudfit.com's Andrew Taylor
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Guess what, Mango, what's that? Will? Do you hear about
this super pizza they invented in England a couple of
years ago. I was, I was just reading about it again. No,
but I did get a note from a very sweet
listener asked me to stop using the word super so much,
and I was thinking for today's episode, I just used
the word top notch instead. So tell me about this
top notch pizza. That's a good word, mango. Well, super
(00:20):
pizza was developed at Glasgow University and it's this frozen
pizza that has seaweed baked into the crust and then
the sauces boosted with nutrients. And the whole idea is that,
because it has a third of your daily vitamins and minerals,
you could actually eat pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner
and be somewhat healthy. That's pretty cool. But how's it taste? Well,
I guess top notches, you might say, but now I
(00:42):
think like pretty good from what I've read online. Anyway,
reading about it made me wonder if you had to
pare your pantry down to the bare minimum, what are
the only foods you'd need to survive? And that's what
today's episode is all about either podcast listeners, Welcome to
(01:13):
part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson and is always I'm
joined by my good friend Mangesh Ticketer and sitting behind
that soundproof booth baking some tiny but delicious pastries and
his easy bake oven as our producer Tristan McNeil. Where
did he get that? What is that, Tristan? Or those
tiny croissans? Yeah, listener, those are tiny croissans. Want a
tiny Croissan? That's so good? All right? Well, for today's show,
(01:35):
we decided to do a little thought experiment. Basically, we
want to know if you were going to limit your
daily diet only a handful of different foods, ten or
five or even just one, what should you eat? Yeah?
I was pretty sure the answer is going to be
flaming hot cheetos. But apparently the answer is not flaming
hot Cheetos. I don't think it is, Yeah, because this
really isn't what snacks you couldn't go without, so much
(01:57):
as the stuff you couldn't live without plus three times
a day Cheetos have. It couldn't be that healthy for you.
Probably not. And you know, I think the idea here
is to concentrate on building the most restricted diet we can,
using foods that are nutritious enough to actually keep you alive.
And along the way, we'll explore the reasons why some
people actually strive for a lack of variety and what
they eat, and and we'll also take a look at
(02:17):
some of the craziest restrictive diets that people have ever
subjected themselves to. Speaking Wish will also be joined by
Andrew Taylor. He's the Australian man who declared two thousand
sixteen to be the Year the Spud and then he
commemorated it by eating nothing but potatoes for three d
sixty six days and he chose a leap here. Yeah,
and now he's written a book called The d I
Y Spud Fit Challenge, and it dares readers to change
(02:40):
their relationship with food in order to live a healthier life.
So we'll find out what possessed him to do this
in the first place, and and why potatoes, of all things.
I mean, it's so weird. I feel like growing up,
potatoes were considered a healthy vegetable, or at least healthy enough.
And then there was the whole anti car movement and
this this big push to cut potatoes out entirely, and
now it feels like it's sort of nudging its way
(03:01):
back in. I know, it's so weird how these things
go back and forth, Like eggs are the same way
with all their cholesterol in that debay, and and it's
just so strange like that we can't decide to just
do this in moderation. Yeah, and and and the strange
part is it it almost feels he radical to be
talking about limiting our food selection. I mean, we've mentioned
this before, but Americans have never had such a huge
variety of options as we do today, and the idea
(03:24):
of purposefully removing choices it kind of runs counter to
most people's thinking. Yeah, so I know this isn't food related,
but for a while I was enamored with this idea
of having a daily uniform. My mother in law gave
me this book she was reading about willpower and and
it there's this argument that you only have so much
willpower and decision making power in a day. And so
people like Obama when he was president, supposedly had someone
(03:45):
pick out his clothes for him, and all of his
shirts and pants were different colors but the same style
and the size. He liked, the idea being if you're
not using your brain power for any of those smaller decisions,
you can actually save it for making swift, important decisions
later in the day. But I I know a number
of successful people who just have one basic lunch they
rely on, and whether that's like a turkey sandwich or
(04:06):
a PBNJ or ramen from downstairs. Yeah, and they just
eat that every day because something they like enough but
don't have to spend any time thinking about. Yeah, and
you know, time and efficiency. That's definitely one aspect of
narrowing your food choices. But another that I've been thinking
about is, you know, space travel. How's that? According to
pops I quote, the impetus of a lot of nutritional
(04:27):
sciences how do we feed people in space? And so
a lot of the effort is on how to pack
more nutritional content into lighter weight foods you know that
that are easy to carry. Well, well, we'll definitely talk
a little bit about food science and efforts to pack
foods with more nutrients. And of course there's also this
trend of monodiets where people eat from just one food
group and even just one particular food. People do this
(04:49):
with bananas or watermelon, or in the magician Penjalette's case,
he did this with potatoes as well, and it's supposedly
to shock his body and too weight loss. I have
to say that it just sounds so miserab doable. But
I mean, I guess they're all sorts of ways to
eat a potato, and he's probably not just eating baked
potatoes all day, at least I hope he's. I don't know.
I wonder how many people were inspired by the Martian
(05:10):
to do this diet. But uh, but when I first started,
you mentioned this topic and this idea of foods you
can't live without. It reminded me of that German poet
and philosopher Frederick Schiller, and he'd keep rotting apples in
a drawer in his desk, and whenever he was getting
writer's block, he'd open the drawer to take a whiff.
Supposedly it inspired him to keep writing that before I know.
(05:30):
And then then there's like Ballza who had fifty cups
of coffee a day to keep them writing. But do
you have any tricks for retter's block? Uh? I don't
actually think I do. What about you, well, it's not
a trick, but I actually hate writing, so whenever I
have to do it, I have to get like a
bag of jelly beans as a treat, just to make
the experience seem more fun. But uh, I know I
took his off track. Nutritionists definitely worn against mono diets,
(05:53):
but sometimes that dieting can't be helped. So what do
you mean by that? Well, it can also be psychological
like that. There was a story a few years ago
about that teenage girl in England who had been hooked
on chicken nuggets. She'd been doubting them since like age
two or something, and according to the report, she had
eaten practically nothing but chicken nuggets for like fifteen years. Wow. Yeah,
(06:14):
I remember hearing about her. I know what. It sounds
kind of funny or impressive, even until one day she
passed out and couldn't breathe. That's a lot less funny.
So did she did she have a heart attack or something? No?
Apparently she was so malnourished that she had to receive
vitamin and nutrient injections. Woh. I mean it's actually kind
of heartbreaking when you think about it, I know. And
and the sadder part is that her mother couldn't even
stop her. Like her words were, quote, uh, it breaks
(06:37):
my heart to see her eating those damn nuggets. You
know what, what you're describing sounds way more than just
hankering for chicken nuggets. I mean, it actually sounds more
like compulsive behavior. And in some cases people are like
highly selective about foods they're willing to eat because of
food addictions. But it can also be about food phobias.
And in fact, there was this other British woman who
(06:58):
ate only chicken nuggets for twenty five years, but she
was also that's with the Brits and their nuggets. I
have no idea, but in this woman's case, she became
so accustomed to eating her favorite food at home that
she developed this serious fear of eating anything else. Like
when she put in her mouth she gagged. But after
visiting a hypnotherapist in London for a single hour, just
(07:18):
an hour, she was totally cured. And she's been feasting
on a non nugget diet ever since. I'm so happy
she's off the nuggets, all right, So this is obvious,
but in general, it sounds like eating only one kind
of food is a very bad idea. I mean, I
guess it works for pets. Ruby has this pet bearded
dragon at school that apparently only eats crickets, and it
(07:39):
seems to be doing just fine. But but you're right,
I mean, part of the problem is that, like, they're
huge parts of the world population, especially in Africa and Asia,
and they survive on a diet that's made up almost
entirely of rice. So it's not really by choice. And
in fact, according to a report from the E. T.
H University in Zurich, and I'm employing this on now, quote,
(07:59):
nearly every second person in the world eats primarily rice
to meet the daily calorie need. A meal of rice
stops the hunger, but contains only very few or none
of the essential micronutrients. So, I mean, the good news
is that researchers have had lots of success with creating
genetically modified multi nutrient rice to help fight malnutrition, especially
in those rice dependent regions. You know, I know they're
(08:23):
economic and political implications of the genetically modified food stuff,
but it is kind of amazing that you can just
infuse all these nutrients into rice and and and solve
this big problem. Of course, whether someone chooses a restricted diet,
or has it thrust upon them. That lack of dinner
table variety poses other problems, you know, aside from the
nutrition of it all, and and mainly that just makes
(08:44):
meals seem so boring. Really, yeah, I mean, that's my
biggest gripe with all of this, and that's not just
our opinion. I mean humans actually experienced a phenomenon called
sensory specific safety, and that's when we keep eating the
same thing. So I've never heard of that. What's that mean?
You know? So basically, the more you eat of a
specific food, the less appetizing it gets and and the
less you can stand the thought of eating it, which
(09:07):
explains why kids always complain when they're full midway through dinner,
but then miraculously find more room in their stomachs when
dessert rolls around. That's exactly what's happening there. And researchers
think sensory specific sayt he might be an evolutionary trade,
you know it It acts as the body's way of
telling us to eat something different in order to avoid
that malnutrition. But of course you don't have to stick
(09:27):
to just a single food item to suffer this. The
effects of this even you know, limiting yourself to one
food group can be unhealthy. And I mean, just look
at the fruitarians out there. So I grew up vegetarian,
but I remember when I heard about fruitarians thinking that
feels like a step too far. I would agree with that. Well,
it's definitely a more extreme form of vegetarianism. And the
(09:48):
idea is that sev or more of your daily food
intakes should be fresh fruit and usually eat and raw.
And health and wellness bloggers have helped popularized the diet
in recent years, so much so that hundreds of like
ended eaters now gather every year in New York for
the Woodstock Fruit Festival. The Other wood Stock, I think
it's probably just a little bit different than the Other
wood Stock. So it's this week long event where fruitarians
(10:10):
gathered a mingle with other fruitarians. They attend lectures and
gorge themselves on the all you can eat fruit and
vegetable buffet, you know, and that's what they get for
their twelve hundred dollar tickets. Yeah, it's crazy. And if
you're wondering how much fresh produce it takes the feed
close to a thousand hungry fruitarians for an entire week
the answer is over a hundred thousand pounds. That's so
(10:31):
much fruit. So it wasn't Steve Jobs a fruitarian. I
feel like I read that somewhere. And and also that
he smelled terrible. I I don't know if that was
because of how his body reacted to the fruits or
because he didn't use any deodorants. Well, I I can't
confirm why he smelled. But but Jobs was probably the
most famous fruitarian in the world, and he kept the
strict vegan diet for most of his life, went through
(10:53):
stints along the way where he would only drink smoothies
and eat raw fruit, all just that kind of strict diet.
And I guess, oh, it makes sense in hindsight, right,
Like it's right there in the company name. Well, you
may be kidding about this, but it's actually true. So
Jobs came up with the name Apple Computers during one
of his fruit terry and faces, Yeah, it says it.
In his biography, he wrote, I had just come back
(11:15):
from the apple farm. It sounded fun, spirited and not intimidating.
Apple took the edge off the word computer. That's so crazy,
Like I always just assumed the Apple was a reference
to Isaac Newton, although it didn't all that fruit actually
wind up contributing to Steve jobs illness. Like I I'm
pretty sure I read somewhere that there's a higher risk
of pancreatic cancer if you consume a lot of fruits
(11:36):
and juices. Well, some studies have definitely shown a strong link,
but of course there's there's no real way of knowing
what brought on Steve's illness, and diet can definitely play
a role, but it's hardly the deciding factor with something
like cancer. That said, when Ashton Kutcher took on the
role of Steve Jobs for that biopick, Kutcher it here
to a fruit terry and diet for about a month
as a way of getting into character, but apparently it
(11:58):
was a disaster and he end up being rushed to
the hospital with stomach pains, you know, just a couple
of days before filming began, and the test found that
his pancreas levels were way off what they should have been,
which really is kind of frightening given how Jobs passed away.
And it's kind of counterintuitive, right, like to think of
something we equate with such health being bad for you.
I guess it's just another win for like boring old moderation.
(12:22):
You know, you're definitely not going to find most doctors
or dietitians that recommend you take up fruitarianism or any
other highly restrictive diet. And a good general rule of
thumb for diets is that you know, if it's making
you sick, it's probably a bad diet advice. But vegetarians
square off fish and meat, and they tend to be
pretty healthy in general. How can we can get away
(12:42):
with dodging some food groups but not others? We tend
to aim for very diets because that gives us a
better chance of getting all the different nutrients we need
to help our bodies function properly, and cutting out whole
food groups lessons that likelihood to two different degrees. So
eliminating meat is one thing. I mean, you can make
up the protein other ways, but eliminating everything except me, honestly,
(13:04):
that would be about as dangerous as the all fruit diet. Well,
we should definitely get into what ten foods we've taken
to space or to a desert island. But now seems
like a good time to get Andrew Taylor on the
line and see if we can figure out how he
beat the odds and managed to survive and even thrive
on his all potato diet, Samango. I know today we're
(13:29):
talking about limiting diets to ten foods, and what would
those ten foods be if that's all we could choose. Well,
today's guests took that to another level. So and in
two thousand sixteen, Andrew Taylor was struggling with depression and anxiety,
and he also weighed more than he'd ever weighed in
his life. So he decided to take matters into his
(13:50):
own hands. He took what you might call a pretty
unusual measure, and that was he decided to eat nothing
but potatoes for a year. I don't know if that's
how you've ever decided or thought about approaching a weight
loss or anything like that, but Andrew Taylor welcomed the
part time Genius. Thanks for having me on. I'm excited. Yeah,
we're thrilled to have you as well. So, Andrew, you
(14:11):
said that you were addicted to food at the time,
and I think I read you wanted to make your
food as boring as possible, so your mind wasn't consumed
by food. Why did you decide on the potato. Yeah,
that's exactly right. It was. It was an experiment really
to say if, uh, if dealing with my own food
addiction through abstinence would would be a helpful thing. So,
(14:31):
you know, an alcoholic should quit alcohol, and I think
it may be a food add it should quit food.
And obviously we can't quit food entirely. So I wonder
if there was one food that I could eate and
and then quit everything else and getting as close as
possible to quitting as as you could. Um, So I tries.
The title is after a lot of race there. I
(14:51):
spent six weeks studying to figure out what would be
the best food to choose, and the title has just
had the most evidence behind them. Basically, most people know
about the Irish diet. For a couple of centuries, the
Irish entire population almost only potatoes, and they would maintained
good fitness and health. And they actually went through a
(15:13):
population zoom, which wouldn't happen if they weren't kitt and healthy. Um.
There are tribes around the world. There's the Puppin Pup
in New Guinean highland of tribe. To this day um
eat almost only sweet potatoes. UM and there's you know,
examples in Japan and the Okinawa and getting nearly all
of their calories from Japanese sweet potatoes and living having
(15:37):
a very high rate of centenarians as people that lived
till a hundred years old. Um. Another interesting thing was
prisoners of war. I read about prisoners of war that
were fed out the potatoes, and they were the same
thing they would in great health and in uh, in
great fitness. And you know, you see photos of prisoners
(15:57):
of war that have totally malnourished, and uh, that's that's
not these guys. These guys that were fed only potatoes
did really, really well. And another great season of information
I found was there was a study done in the
twenties and the late nineteen twenties where a marathon running
couple were supervised by scientists for six months eating only potatoes,
(16:20):
and again they did really well. They maintained good fitness
and health, and at the end of six months, I
actually ran personal best marathon. So there's a lot more
information that I read that that's the best examples I
can give you. And and yeah, once I read all that,
a lot more than my decision was easy. The potatoes
are the obvious choice. Wow, that's a that's just fascinating.
(16:41):
And clearly you did your homework on this. I am curious.
Were you consulting a nutritionist at all through the process. No,
I've got my personal doctor is a dietician as well
qualified dietician and doctor. And once I've done all my
research and made my decision and decided that that's what
I wanted to do, I went to him and basically
told him what my plan was. And and yeah, he
(17:04):
agreed to supervise me and help me, but he didn't
have any input in the initial planning of it. Now,
and I heard you mentioned sweet potatoes and and I
think regular potatoes. Did you mixed potatoes or was there
just one type of potato you're reading on the stand?
I had all kinds of potatoes. Yeah, I didn't want to.
I wanted to be restrictive, but I didn't want to like,
(17:25):
you know, if I went to the to the store
and they only had one kind of potato available and
it wasn't the kind that I was eating, that was
going to make things hard, you know. So I just
decided to make it all kinds of potatoes, just the
logistical reasons. So, yeah, and obviously the potatoes pretty versatile
to cook. But well, what types of meals did you
make and and did your art of cooking the potato
(17:45):
evolved as you continued on this process. Yeah, Well, like
you briefly mentioned earlier, my I figured that a big
part of my problem with food was that I was
relying on it for comfort, enjoyment, emotional support, things like that.
Like at the end of a bad day, I would
get home and want to try to make myself feel
better by eating um, exciting, interesting food. So the idea
(18:09):
was that I wanted to make my food as boring
as possible so that I'd have to retrain my brain
to get that comfort and enjoyment and emotional support from
other areas of life rather than just from food. So
for that reason, I kept it for as boring as
possible on purpose. So per cent of my meals were
probably mashed potato, baked potato, or um or boiled potato,
(18:31):
or just playing and m Yeah. Every now and then,
maybe once a fortnight or even once a month, I
would do something a little bit more interesting, like, uh,
they make some oven baked chips or some potato waffles
or something like that. But really it was it was
all about learning to be happy with boring food. And
(18:52):
I got this saying making food boring in your life interesting.
So rather than spending my time and energy on trying
to make interesting, exciting food, I just tried to do
interesting and exciting things. It seems like a great way
to approach. And I'm curious, are you still eating potatoes
now that you've finished your year of only potatoes? Yeah?
I had mashed potatoes and rockets. I think you got
(19:13):
called a rugula mashed the tatoes and a rugula for breakfast. So, Andrew,
I'm curious. I know, you know, diet experts would probably
point out the lack of protein that you're getting in
this diet. So what what would you say to those
that that would be critical of the diet or be
concerned that you might not be getting enough protein or
or you know, other essentials in your diet. Yeah, well
(19:36):
there there are. I've had lots of input from diet
experts around the world and since I started doing this,
and it's it's interesting that potatos. I guess I have
a bad rat the table of things that they're lacking
in so much nutrition, but they've actually I was getting
when I was eating in the potatoes only, I was
getting idy flops and antigrams of protein a diet which
(19:59):
is death really well within the recommended daily intake. And
it's all the all the required essential amino acids getting covered.
So yeah, I find it a little bit disturbing when
expert make these claims. We're clearly not knowing what they're
talking about. And the potatoes, everyone knows they've got a
lot of carbohydrates, but they've also got the protein. Like
(20:20):
I mentioned, they've got a small amount of fat, which
is enough to give the body what it needs, especially
when you're carrying extra fat like I was. And uh,
and yeah, they've got a really good balance of all
the other vitamins and minerals that we need to So
my blood tests were getting better through the whole year,
and I was really getting everything I need from from
this diet. So yeah, no complaints there. So I was
(20:46):
curious how your marriage was affected by this, and and
what were you spending more time on instead of just cooking,
uh and thinking about food. Yeah, my marriage was only
affected in positive ways. My life was really supportive and
before I started this, I have now to take to
say that I gave a hundred percent of everything I
had to being the best husband I could and being
(21:08):
the best father I could. Um, but you know, I
was clinically depressed and hundred and twenty pounds more than
I am now, and so you know, a hundred percent
then is not the same as a hundred percent now.
So I'm able to give more these days, which means
my marriage and my life is has only been affected
in positive ways. Yes, so no complaints there, and my
(21:29):
wife was really supported from the start. It's amazing how
much time and space food takes up in your life
for you thinking about it, planning and preparing its, shopping
for it, cooking and cleaning up after it. All that.
You don't realize how much time and effort and energy
that all takes up until your remove it from your
life basically, So, yeah, I've added a lot into my life.
(21:53):
I'm doing a lot more exercise and and really I
guess most of my extra time and attention has just
gone into having fun with my loss and my boy.
And you know, at the time I'm used to spend
thinking about and planning and all that, it's it's just
spent on enjoying myself with them. I've wrestled with my
little boy and read books and my jugs, and you know,
(22:16):
we got walking and playing at the playground and it's
just all the little things in lot. But just got
a little bit of extra focus for I mean, that's
I decided there's one particular thing. It's just across the board,
I get a little bit more. I'm for each of
the more positive experiences and loss until that's wonderful. Well, Andrew,
this has just been fascinating, and congratulations on your success
(22:40):
with this. I really admire what you've accomplished. And as
you've put it before, it's it's not about the potato.
I mean. You can check out Andrew's book, The d
I Y spud Fit Challenge on Amazon or visit him
online at spud fit dot com. Andrew, thanks so much
for joining us today. Thanks so much for having me.
It's same fun and you have good luck with everything
you guys do. You're listening to part Time Genius and
(23:14):
we're talking about how to get by on the least
number of foods possible. Okay, Mango, So, after talking to Andrew,
I think we're in agreement that potatoes belong on our
list of the only foods you'll ever need. What do
you think about this? Absolutely? I mean, there are twenty
amino acids that humans need to survive, and while our
bodies produced most of those four us there are nine
essential acids that we only get from foods we eat.
(23:36):
And although most food supply at least a couple of
those essential aminoes, white potatoes can actually get you there
in one go. And it's funny that potatoes don't get
the coveted super food moniker like some of the others do.
But I agree with you on this. I mean they
belong in the card. And of course white potatoes aren't
enough on their own, since they lack some of the
much needed minerals and vitamins. You know, we think about
(23:56):
vitamins A and E, and as Andrew points out, a
true potato terry and I guess if that's a word,
they would need to add sweet potatoes to the mix
in order to survive long term. Yeah, that sweet potato
footnote really made me wonder how the Irish made it
through that famine in the eight hundreds, Like roughly a
third of the population lived mostly on plain potatoes during
those lean years, But I don't think they were farming
(24:18):
sweet potatoes. Yeah, I was actually curious about this as well,
so I decided to do a little digging into this.
And and the traditional go to meal for the Irish
peasants has been potatoes, milk, oats, beans, and bread. But
you know, by the time the famine struck, most peasants
had to sell their milk supplied just to make rent,
so their meals dwindled to potatoes, salted fish, and oatmeal,
(24:39):
and that was enough to keep them going for the
most part. It actually was. I mean that the fish
would have been high in protein and calcium, plus some
of the important minerals and vitamins, but the real saving grace,
surprisingly was actually the oatmeal. You see, even on a
diet that included both white and sweet potatoes, you'd still
be lacking a crucial mineral. And I have a hard
(25:00):
time pronouncing this mineral, but it's called molybdenum. I've never
heard of it, nobody has heard of it, and I
don't think anybody can say it. And it's it's often
called the most important element you've never heard of. So basically,
without molybdenum, your body would be unable to break down
the sul fights and turn them into usable sources of energy.
And since soul fights are naturally found in so many
(25:22):
foods we eat, including potatoes, most foods would eventually kill
you without it, you know, in order to take care
of the soul fights. But thankfully we really don't need
all that much of the mineral. In fact, the recommended
daily allowance for it is only about forty five micrograms,
so a little oatmeal actually does the trick. And you
just ask the Irish or the Scots for that matter.
(25:43):
And while researching, I found that the cornerstones of a
traditional Scottish diet where potatoes, oatmeal, milk and kale. And
now I'm actually thinking they all should have a place
on our list. It's a pretty great comba. I mean,
you could you could probably get buy on those four
a loan if you had to. Though, I think you
could make the case for swapping oats for barley just
because it has the same essential vitamins and minerals as
(26:05):
the other grains, but it also helps to manage those
cholesterol levels. Okay, so we've got a pretty good list
going here. We've got white and sweet potatoes as well
as oats are barley, and now we're adding milk and kale.
And of course I'm kind of sick of hearing people
talk about kill these days. Yeah, I know, I know
what you mean on this. So it does kind of
live up to its reputation though. It can help with
(26:25):
everything from cardiovascular support to the fight against things like
arthritis or asthma or diabetes, even cancer. It's been shown
in some studies. Plus it's super rich and vitamins and minerals.
I know, us that's super and five, I know, but
I feel like I'm in a kale ad well, I
mean mango. A single hundred gram serving of kale contains
(26:46):
way more than the recommended daily allowance for let's see here,
vitamin C, vitamin A, and vitamin K, and you can
order some using the coupon code kale dot com slash genius.
So to be clear, that's a fake coupon code. We
don't not on the Kale Lobby's dual. And while kale
has plenty going for it, it's not without its drawbacks. Really,
So why is that? Well, rock hille can be extremely
(27:09):
tough on the digestive system, and even cooked kale can
lead to hypothyroidism. That's if you eat too much of it,
and all that vitamin K you mentioned. I mean, it's
great in moderation, but too much can lead to the
formation of blood clots. So if you're already dealing with
blood clots, or if you're on a blood thinning medication,
you might want to subdend spinach instead. You know, it's
(27:29):
weird how it all gets more complicated than you think,
even with something like kale. But you know, you know,
still milk seems like a safe bet for the list.
If if you drink vitamin D fortified whole milk, your
body is getting a lot of what it needs right there.
You know, it's got carbs, protein, potassium, all the essential
amino acids, and of course, as we know, calcium pretty
(27:50):
much the only thing is missing our fiber. And apparently
it's so hard for me to say moleb molybdenum. Yes, exactly, alright,
So so grains and greens and potatoes would still need
to be on the menu to get your nutrition fixed.
But it really is amazing how close any one of
these foods can get you to a pretty healthy diet.
It is, and I know we already debunked the mono diet.
(28:10):
But there actually is one food that succeeds that, delivering
the complete nutritional package all on its own. And that's
better than an all potato diet and way way better
than the all chicken nugget diet. Do you like chicken nuggets? No?
I'm curious. Sorry, So, so what's this amazing mystery food?
Milk or specifically human milk. So, according to Joanne Hattner,
a nutrition consultant at Stanford and former national spokesperson for
(28:33):
the American Dietetic Association, mother's milk is a complete food
that means it's calorically sufficient and contains a little bit
of all the vitamins, minerals, and amino acids that we need. Yeah,
but you're talking about for babies though, right, Like adults
couldn't survive on breast milk, could they. Well, that's the catch.
Even though all the vital nutrients are in there, they
(28:53):
don't occur in high enough amounts to sustain an adult.
In fact, that that's why we ultimately add solid foods
to infant diet so that we can eef up the
amount of iron and other nutrients that they receive. And technically,
though anyone could survive solely on mother's milk, provided they
were able to you know, source enough of it. Well,
I don't think that's going to happen, thank God, exactly.
(29:13):
So our best bed is to stick to other mammal
milks like cows or goats. And if the milks for
mintage or you know, like a yogurt, that's all the
better because the added bacteria can do wonders for our
doguestive tracks. Welcome back to part time Genius Now. Earlier
(29:41):
we harped on fruitarians quite a bit, so I do
want to make sure we give fruit its to and
include at least one on our list. The problem is,
there's so many tasty fruits and pretty much all of
them are good for you. So I'm going to leave
it to you Mega. What's your pick? Well, everyone knows
by now that I have a soft spot for bananas,
and thanks to their high level a potassium and fiber
and lack of fire or salt, they're not a bad choice.
(30:05):
They are pretty sugary, though, and and a little week
in the calorie department. For example, have you heard of this, uh,
this YouTube phenomena Freely the Banana Girl. I can't say
that's in my list channels. Yeah, she's this Australian social
media darling and she practices a monodiet of just bananas,
and since the average banana only contains a hundred calories
or so, really scarves down fifty plus bananas every day
(30:28):
to keep her energy every day. Oh my gosh. Yeah.
So of course we'd be supplementing our fruit with other
things on our list, so we wouldn't have to eat
quite as many. But if we're trying to stick to
just one kind of fruit, there are probably better options.
Well why don't we go the other way for a
minute and maybe choose a high calorie fruit like avocados.
I mean they have fiber and potassium like bananas do,
(30:49):
plus vitamin E plenty of healthy fats that that helped
keep inflammation and cholesterol in check. They're just overall healthy. Yeah,
that definitely works. And avocados are great for breakfast or
lunch or dinner, and and they're more versatile than bananas
I guess. But another strong choice would be some kind
of berry, and any kind really. Blueberries and pomegranates are
popular choices because they're all packed with antioxidants and tons
(31:11):
of vitamin c. But I actually read this article and
Business Insider that ranked the nutritional value of a bunch
of berries, and the one that topped the list was
one I never would have thought elderberries. Elderberry never, never
would have thought if you ever had an elder actually
haven't had an elderberry, but a fairly elderberries surpassed their
cousins and potassium and iron and fiber and also vitamin
(31:32):
B six and see. And the only problem is that
eating too many raw ones can actually make you sick,
so you'd have to cook them down into a syrup.
But if you want to go with the second best berry,
that happens to be the BlackBerry. I have had that
type of berry, and they're very good. And it's definitely
easier to find blackberries too. I'm actually not sure I've
ever seen an elderberry in a grocery store. All right, So,
(31:53):
so fruits, veggies, grain, starch, and dairy are covered on
our list, And and now we need a dedicated protein.
And it's tempting to go with something like a decadent steak,
but you know, anything besides an ultra lean cut is
going to provide more saturated fat and cholesterol than you
really want when we're trying to come up with a
list like this, so I don't know. Instead, I say
we take another page from the Irish and opt for
(32:14):
maybe surf instead of turf. Yeah that sounds smart. So
what are you thinking? Well, any fish is going to
offer protein and healthy fat, but you really can't do
much better than salmon. I know, we talked about kale
earlier in the greens category, and much like that, salmon
has been the it thing within its category. It's been
the it fish for a while now, but it's loaded
(32:34):
with high quality protein, not to mention vitamin B twelve
and minerals like potassium and selenium. You know, while salmon
is a fattier fish, most of that comes from Omega
three fatty acids, and those help promote healthy brain function,
they produce joint inflammation, and they strengthen your heart. Yeah, well,
salmon is a strong pick. But in case any vegetarians
are listening, we should point out a few guilt free
(32:56):
alternatives for protein, and thankfully there are a ton of them,
like being pulses, nuts, and seeds. They're all fantastic protein
choices and they're much easier to carry, store or even
prepare than animal proteins, assuming that you pair them appropriately
to make a complete protein, like in the case of beans,
pairing them with rice. All right, so what would you
say are the best of the best for the plant
(33:16):
based proteins? Well, and this might be biased according to
the Bean Institute, which apparently is a thing. Beans contained
between protein by weight, and since that's much higher than
other sources of vegetable protein, you know, the nut or
seed options. I'd go with beans and different beans packed
different amounts of protein and other minerals, with black beans,
(33:39):
kidney beans, pinto, and soy tending to provide the most.
But that's the beauty of beans. No matter which one
you go with, it's going to be a good source
of protein and fiber, and it will also be fat free,
sodium free, and cholesterol free. Looks like beans for the wind.
I feel like you said beans a lot that I
do want to mention though, that it just like with
eating too many fruits or something like kale, there is
(34:00):
such a thing as too much protein. It's actually called
protein poisoning, or some people call it rabbit starvation. I've
never heard of this, but just saw in the research
and it occurs when or more of your calorie intake
is derived from protein. And the nickname actually has nothing
to do with malnourished bunnies or anything like that. He
comes from the early North American explorers who sometimes survives
(34:21):
solely on lane proteins such as rabbits, And this would
happen for weeks at a time, and that I had
often led to starvation because a person's liver it can
only process so many calories from lan proteins. Yeah. So
so remember, no matter where you get your protein, don't
overdo it. The bulk of your calories should be coming
from fats and carbs and not protein. Yeah, that's a
(34:42):
good tip. So there you have it. There are two
kinds of potatoes on our list, oats or barley, kaylor spinach,
milk or yogurt, avocados or berries, and salmon or beans.
And if you have extra room, maybe a package of
flaming hot cheetahs. Yeah, that would cover all of your
nutritional bases. But again, whether you want to or even
whether you should stick to a limited diet like this,
(35:04):
that's a whole different matter, maybe for a different episode
one day, totally, because while it makes sense on paper,
that we can restrict our diets, that's not really how
things play out in real life. So for for example,
there was a study in two thousand two where researchers
took data from fifty nine thousand women and found that
those who alternated sixteen to seventeen healthy foods through the
diet had a forty two lower mortality rate than those
(35:27):
who regularly ate between zero to eight healthy foods. So
even if you're eating mostly healthy foods like the ones
we listed today, you'll still be at a disadvantage if
you aren't varying what you eat. Yeah, and that actually
tracks with an article I read by a dietitian at
Glasgow Caledonian University. Her name is Jenny Jackson, and she
openly it meants that while we know a diet that
includes a variety of vegetables is healthier than eating just
(35:50):
a few, we actually don't know exactly why that's the case.
As she puts it, quote, we don't really know which
foods are causing which effects. So while you could workout
exactly what you needed from macro nutrients, you don't know
exactly what you might be missing. Yeah, I'd say the
real strength of a thought experiment like this is that
it reminds us of the practical purpose food serves. I mean,
(36:11):
humans have evolved to value the taste of food and
the experience of eating way more than any other species,
which of course I'm grateful for. But that focus on
the sensory can distract us from food's true purpose as
fuel for our lives. Yeah, I think that's exactly right.
And you know, at a time when people are so
wrapped up with food as a social experience or as
a form of entertainment instagramming What's on your plate or
(36:33):
writing reviews on yell, but it is a little sobering
to think about food is this basic necessity. But picking
apart the pros and cons of individual foods, it it
does give you a sense of not only what we're
putting in our bodies, but but why we're doing it.
That's definitely true. But you know, one thing you can
always safely consume without having to overthink it. I'm really
hoping this is not about breast milk again, they're part
(36:54):
time gene is fact off and and what do you say,
because we're both surprised by how nutritious the potato is,
we turned this into the potato edition. All right, sounds
good to me, m m so. According to a history
(37:15):
of Greece I found, there's an often told story that,
in order to popularize potatoes, in eight new governor Johnny
Cappadistas tried to give potatoes away, but the people were
totally uninterested. So we've placed armed guards in front of
a shipment as they were loaded off docks to make
them seem more important. And when the guards turned away
or left their positions, people just stole the potatoes. And
(37:36):
that's how the potatoes popularity spread there. But what strange
is that it isn't the first time leaders tried to
convince people to eat potatoes. According to an article and
mental floss quote, in the late seventeen hundreds, in an
effort to inspire their starving subjects to plant the newly
introduced vegetable, Marie Antoinette wore potato flowers in her hair,
and her husband, King Louis the sixteenth wore them in
(37:58):
his buttonholes. And while the move launched a new fad,
convincing French nobility to start wearing potato flowers, the plant
didn't have the intended effect. The lower classes resented the
propaganda and spurned the plant. So did you know that
potato parties used to be a thing in Japan and
South Korea? Like teenagers would go into McDonald's, ordered two
(38:18):
hundred dollars or more of fries and then just spread
them out on tables to eat while they hung out. Actually,
that sounds pretty delicious to me. I want to admit that. Well,
did you know that Mr Potato had was the first
toy advertised on television? I had forgotten that. The craziest
part to me was that you actually provide your own potato. Yeah, well,
since you knew that fact, how about this one? Did
(38:39):
you know that gardeners will sometimes put rose cuttings into
a potato, then plant the potato and the ground. Why
is that? Well, the potatoes full of nutrients so it
can actually help the rose grow. That's insane. Do you
know that uh Garbachev's life once tried to impress a
British minister by telling him that the Soviets had more
than three hundred ways to cook potatoes, and when he
(38:59):
doubted her, she sent him a cookbook of five dred
ways to cook a potato showed him all right, Well,
I mean I guess, with five hundred recipes from Russia alone,
we don't have to worry about pendil Lad and whether
he gets his variety anymore. But all right, I think
because of that fact, I'm gonna let you take home
the championship belt this week. That's it for today's Part
Time Genius. If you enjoy the show, feel free to
(39:20):
drop us a line on our seven fact hotline. That's
one eight four four pt Genius. You can also send
us a note part Time Genius at how stuff Works
dot com or find us on Facebook and Twitter. And
if you really really enjoyed the show, please give us
a review or rating on Apple podcast or wherever you
listen to your podcast. Thanks so much, thanks again for listening.
(39:52):
Part Time Genius is a production of How Stuff Works
and wouldn't be possible without several brilliant people who do
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(40:14):
show to your ears. Good job, Eves. If you like
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Jason who
Guess what, Mango, what's that? Will? Do you hear about
this super pizza they invented in England a couple of
years ago. I was, I was just reading about it again. No,
but I did get a note from a very sweet
listener asked me to stop using the word super so much,
and I was thinking for today's episode, I just used
the word top notch instead. So tell me about this
top notch pizza. That's a good word, mango. Well, super
(00:20):
pizza was developed at Glasgow University and it's this frozen
pizza that has seaweed baked into the crust and then
the sauces boosted with nutrients. And the whole idea is that,
because it has a third of your daily vitamins and minerals,
you could actually eat pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner
and be somewhat healthy. That's pretty cool. But how's it taste? Well,
I guess top notches, you might say, but now I
(00:42):
think like pretty good from what I've read online. Anyway,
reading about it made me wonder if you had to
pare your pantry down to the bare minimum, what are
the only foods you'd need to survive? And that's what
today's episode is all about either podcast listeners, Welcome to
(01:13):
part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson and is always I'm
joined by my good friend Mangesh Ticketer and sitting behind
that soundproof booth baking some tiny but delicious pastries and
his easy bake oven as our producer Tristan McNeil. Where
did he get that? What is that, Tristan? Or those
tiny croissans? Yeah, listener, those are tiny croissans. Want a
tiny Croissan? That's so good? All right? Well, for today's show,
(01:35):
we decided to do a little thought experiment. Basically, we
want to know if you were going to limit your
daily diet only a handful of different foods, ten or
five or even just one, what should you eat? Yeah?
I was pretty sure the answer is going to be
flaming hot cheetos. But apparently the answer is not flaming
hot Cheetos. I don't think it is, Yeah, because this
really isn't what snacks you couldn't go without, so much
(01:57):
as the stuff you couldn't live without plus three times
a day Cheetos have. It couldn't be that healthy for you.
Probably not. And you know, I think the idea here
is to concentrate on building the most restricted diet we can,
using foods that are nutritious enough to actually keep you alive.
And along the way, we'll explore the reasons why some
people actually strive for a lack of variety and what
they eat, and and we'll also take a look at
(02:17):
some of the craziest restrictive diets that people have ever
subjected themselves to. Speaking Wish will also be joined by
Andrew Taylor. He's the Australian man who declared two thousand
sixteen to be the Year the Spud and then he
commemorated it by eating nothing but potatoes for three d
sixty six days and he chose a leap here. Yeah,
and now he's written a book called The d I
Y Spud Fit Challenge, and it dares readers to change
(02:40):
their relationship with food in order to live a healthier life.
So we'll find out what possessed him to do this
in the first place, and and why potatoes, of all things.
I mean, it's so weird. I feel like growing up,
potatoes were considered a healthy vegetable, or at least healthy enough.
And then there was the whole anti car movement and
this this big push to cut potatoes out entirely, and
now it feels like it's sort of nudging its way
(03:01):
back in. I know, it's so weird how these things
go back and forth, Like eggs are the same way
with all their cholesterol in that debay, and and it's
just so strange like that we can't decide to just
do this in moderation. Yeah, and and and the strange
part is it it almost feels he radical to be
talking about limiting our food selection. I mean, we've mentioned
this before, but Americans have never had such a huge
variety of options as we do today, and the idea
(03:24):
of purposefully removing choices it kind of runs counter to
most people's thinking. Yeah, so I know this isn't food related,
but for a while I was enamored with this idea
of having a daily uniform. My mother in law gave
me this book she was reading about willpower and and
it there's this argument that you only have so much
willpower and decision making power in a day. And so
people like Obama when he was president, supposedly had someone
(03:45):
pick out his clothes for him, and all of his
shirts and pants were different colors but the same style
and the size. He liked, the idea being if you're
not using your brain power for any of those smaller decisions,
you can actually save it for making swift, important decisions
later in the day. But I I know a number
of successful people who just have one basic lunch they
rely on, and whether that's like a turkey sandwich or
(04:06):
a PBNJ or ramen from downstairs. Yeah, and they just
eat that every day because something they like enough but
don't have to spend any time thinking about. Yeah, and
you know, time and efficiency. That's definitely one aspect of
narrowing your food choices. But another that I've been thinking
about is, you know, space travel. How's that? According to
pops I quote, the impetus of a lot of nutritional
(04:27):
sciences how do we feed people in space? And so
a lot of the effort is on how to pack
more nutritional content into lighter weight foods you know that
that are easy to carry. Well, well, we'll definitely talk
a little bit about food science and efforts to pack
foods with more nutrients. And of course there's also this
trend of monodiets where people eat from just one food
group and even just one particular food. People do this
(04:49):
with bananas or watermelon, or in the magician Penjalette's case,
he did this with potatoes as well, and it's supposedly
to shock his body and too weight loss. I have
to say that it just sounds so miserab doable. But
I mean, I guess they're all sorts of ways to
eat a potato, and he's probably not just eating baked
potatoes all day, at least I hope he's. I don't know.
I wonder how many people were inspired by the Martian
(05:10):
to do this diet. But uh, but when I first started,
you mentioned this topic and this idea of foods you
can't live without. It reminded me of that German poet
and philosopher Frederick Schiller, and he'd keep rotting apples in
a drawer in his desk, and whenever he was getting
writer's block, he'd open the drawer to take a whiff.
Supposedly it inspired him to keep writing that before I know.
(05:30):
And then then there's like Ballza who had fifty cups
of coffee a day to keep them writing. But do
you have any tricks for retter's block? Uh? I don't
actually think I do. What about you, well, it's not
a trick, but I actually hate writing, so whenever I
have to do it, I have to get like a
bag of jelly beans as a treat, just to make
the experience seem more fun. But uh, I know I
took his off track. Nutritionists definitely worn against mono diets,
(05:53):
but sometimes that dieting can't be helped. So what do
you mean by that? Well, it can also be psychological
like that. There was a story a few years ago
about that teenage girl in England who had been hooked
on chicken nuggets. She'd been doubting them since like age
two or something, and according to the report, she had
eaten practically nothing but chicken nuggets for like fifteen years. Wow. Yeah,
(06:14):
I remember hearing about her. I know what. It sounds
kind of funny or impressive, even until one day she
passed out and couldn't breathe. That's a lot less funny.
So did she did she have a heart attack or something? No?
Apparently she was so malnourished that she had to receive
vitamin and nutrient injections. Woh. I mean it's actually kind
of heartbreaking when you think about it, I know. And
and the sadder part is that her mother couldn't even
stop her. Like her words were, quote, uh, it breaks
(06:37):
my heart to see her eating those damn nuggets. You
know what, what you're describing sounds way more than just
hankering for chicken nuggets. I mean, it actually sounds more
like compulsive behavior. And in some cases people are like
highly selective about foods they're willing to eat because of
food addictions. But it can also be about food phobias.
And in fact, there was this other British woman who
(06:58):
ate only chicken nuggets for twenty five years, but she
was also that's with the Brits and their nuggets. I
have no idea, but in this woman's case, she became
so accustomed to eating her favorite food at home that
she developed this serious fear of eating anything else. Like
when she put in her mouth she gagged. But after
visiting a hypnotherapist in London for a single hour, just
(07:18):
an hour, she was totally cured. And she's been feasting
on a non nugget diet ever since. I'm so happy
she's off the nuggets, all right, So this is obvious,
but in general, it sounds like eating only one kind
of food is a very bad idea. I mean, I
guess it works for pets. Ruby has this pet bearded
dragon at school that apparently only eats crickets, and it
(07:39):
seems to be doing just fine. But but you're right,
I mean, part of the problem is that, like, they're
huge parts of the world population, especially in Africa and Asia,
and they survive on a diet that's made up almost
entirely of rice. So it's not really by choice. And
in fact, according to a report from the E. T.
H University in Zurich, and I'm employing this on now, quote,
(07:59):
nearly every second person in the world eats primarily rice
to meet the daily calorie need. A meal of rice
stops the hunger, but contains only very few or none
of the essential micronutrients. So, I mean, the good news
is that researchers have had lots of success with creating
genetically modified multi nutrient rice to help fight malnutrition, especially
in those rice dependent regions. You know, I know they're
(08:23):
economic and political implications of the genetically modified food stuff,
but it is kind of amazing that you can just
infuse all these nutrients into rice and and and solve
this big problem. Of course, whether someone chooses a restricted diet,
or has it thrust upon them. That lack of dinner
table variety poses other problems, you know, aside from the
nutrition of it all, and and mainly that just makes
(08:44):
meals seem so boring. Really, yeah, I mean, that's my
biggest gripe with all of this, and that's not just
our opinion. I mean humans actually experienced a phenomenon called
sensory specific safety, and that's when we keep eating the
same thing. So I've never heard of that. What's that mean?
You know? So basically, the more you eat of a
specific food, the less appetizing it gets and and the
less you can stand the thought of eating it, which
(09:07):
explains why kids always complain when they're full midway through dinner,
but then miraculously find more room in their stomachs when
dessert rolls around. That's exactly what's happening there. And researchers
think sensory specific sayt he might be an evolutionary trade,
you know it It acts as the body's way of
telling us to eat something different in order to avoid
that malnutrition. But of course you don't have to stick
(09:27):
to just a single food item to suffer this. The
effects of this even you know, limiting yourself to one
food group can be unhealthy. And I mean, just look
at the fruitarians out there. So I grew up vegetarian,
but I remember when I heard about fruitarians thinking that
feels like a step too far. I would agree with that. Well,
it's definitely a more extreme form of vegetarianism. And the
(09:48):
idea is that sev or more of your daily food
intakes should be fresh fruit and usually eat and raw.
And health and wellness bloggers have helped popularized the diet
in recent years, so much so that hundreds of like
ended eaters now gather every year in New York for
the Woodstock Fruit Festival. The Other wood Stock, I think
it's probably just a little bit different than the Other
wood Stock. So it's this week long event where fruitarians
(10:10):
gathered a mingle with other fruitarians. They attend lectures and
gorge themselves on the all you can eat fruit and
vegetable buffet, you know, and that's what they get for
their twelve hundred dollar tickets. Yeah, it's crazy. And if
you're wondering how much fresh produce it takes the feed
close to a thousand hungry fruitarians for an entire week
the answer is over a hundred thousand pounds. That's so
(10:31):
much fruit. So it wasn't Steve Jobs a fruitarian. I
feel like I read that somewhere. And and also that
he smelled terrible. I I don't know if that was
because of how his body reacted to the fruits or
because he didn't use any deodorants. Well, I I can't
confirm why he smelled. But but Jobs was probably the
most famous fruitarian in the world, and he kept the
strict vegan diet for most of his life, went through
(10:53):
stints along the way where he would only drink smoothies
and eat raw fruit, all just that kind of strict diet.
And I guess, oh, it makes sense in hindsight, right,
Like it's right there in the company name. Well, you
may be kidding about this, but it's actually true. So
Jobs came up with the name Apple Computers during one
of his fruit terry and faces, Yeah, it says it.
In his biography, he wrote, I had just come back
(11:15):
from the apple farm. It sounded fun, spirited and not intimidating.
Apple took the edge off the word computer. That's so crazy,
Like I always just assumed the Apple was a reference
to Isaac Newton, although it didn't all that fruit actually
wind up contributing to Steve jobs illness. Like I I'm
pretty sure I read somewhere that there's a higher risk
of pancreatic cancer if you consume a lot of fruits
(11:36):
and juices. Well, some studies have definitely shown a strong link,
but of course there's there's no real way of knowing
what brought on Steve's illness, and diet can definitely play
a role, but it's hardly the deciding factor with something
like cancer. That said, when Ashton Kutcher took on the
role of Steve Jobs for that biopick, Kutcher it here
to a fruit terry and diet for about a month
as a way of getting into character, but apparently it
(11:58):
was a disaster and he end up being rushed to
the hospital with stomach pains, you know, just a couple
of days before filming began, and the test found that
his pancreas levels were way off what they should have been,
which really is kind of frightening given how Jobs passed away.
And it's kind of counterintuitive, right, like to think of
something we equate with such health being bad for you.
I guess it's just another win for like boring old moderation.
(12:22):
You know, you're definitely not going to find most doctors
or dietitians that recommend you take up fruitarianism or any
other highly restrictive diet. And a good general rule of
thumb for diets is that you know, if it's making
you sick, it's probably a bad diet advice. But vegetarians
square off fish and meat, and they tend to be
pretty healthy in general. How can we can get away
(12:42):
with dodging some food groups but not others? We tend
to aim for very diets because that gives us a
better chance of getting all the different nutrients we need
to help our bodies function properly, and cutting out whole
food groups lessons that likelihood to two different degrees. So
eliminating meat is one thing. I mean, you can make
up the protein other ways, but eliminating everything except me, honestly,
(13:04):
that would be about as dangerous as the all fruit diet. Well,
we should definitely get into what ten foods we've taken
to space or to a desert island. But now seems
like a good time to get Andrew Taylor on the
line and see if we can figure out how he
beat the odds and managed to survive and even thrive
on his all potato diet, Samango. I know today we're
(13:29):
talking about limiting diets to ten foods, and what would
those ten foods be if that's all we could choose. Well,
today's guests took that to another level. So and in
two thousand sixteen, Andrew Taylor was struggling with depression and anxiety,
and he also weighed more than he'd ever weighed in
his life. So he decided to take matters into his
(13:50):
own hands. He took what you might call a pretty
unusual measure, and that was he decided to eat nothing
but potatoes for a year. I don't know if that's
how you've ever decided or thought about approaching a weight
loss or anything like that, but Andrew Taylor welcomed the
part time Genius. Thanks for having me on. I'm excited. Yeah,
we're thrilled to have you as well. So, Andrew, you
(14:11):
said that you were addicted to food at the time,
and I think I read you wanted to make your
food as boring as possible, so your mind wasn't consumed
by food. Why did you decide on the potato. Yeah,
that's exactly right. It was. It was an experiment really
to say if, uh, if dealing with my own food
addiction through abstinence would would be a helpful thing. So,
(14:31):
you know, an alcoholic should quit alcohol, and I think
it may be a food add it should quit food.
And obviously we can't quit food entirely. So I wonder
if there was one food that I could eate and
and then quit everything else and getting as close as
possible to quitting as as you could. Um, So I tries.
The title is after a lot of race there. I
(14:51):
spent six weeks studying to figure out what would be
the best food to choose, and the title has just
had the most evidence behind them. Basically, most people know
about the Irish diet. For a couple of centuries, the
Irish entire population almost only potatoes, and they would maintained
good fitness and health. And they actually went through a
(15:13):
population zoom, which wouldn't happen if they weren't kitt and healthy. Um.
There are tribes around the world. There's the Puppin Pup
in New Guinean highland of tribe. To this day um
eat almost only sweet potatoes. UM and there's you know,
examples in Japan and the Okinawa and getting nearly all
of their calories from Japanese sweet potatoes and living having
(15:37):
a very high rate of centenarians as people that lived
till a hundred years old. Um. Another interesting thing was
prisoners of war. I read about prisoners of war that
were fed out the potatoes, and they were the same
thing they would in great health and in uh, in
great fitness. And you know, you see photos of prisoners
(15:57):
of war that have totally malnourished, and uh, that's that's
not these guys. These guys that were fed only potatoes
did really, really well. And another great season of information
I found was there was a study done in the
twenties and the late nineteen twenties where a marathon running
couple were supervised by scientists for six months eating only potatoes,
(16:20):
and again they did really well. They maintained good fitness
and health, and at the end of six months, I
actually ran personal best marathon. So there's a lot more
information that I read that that's the best examples I
can give you. And and yeah, once I read all that,
a lot more than my decision was easy. The potatoes
are the obvious choice. Wow, that's a that's just fascinating.
(16:41):
And clearly you did your homework on this. I am curious.
Were you consulting a nutritionist at all through the process. No,
I've got my personal doctor is a dietician as well
qualified dietician and doctor. And once I've done all my
research and made my decision and decided that that's what
I wanted to do, I went to him and basically
told him what my plan was. And and yeah, he
(17:04):
agreed to supervise me and help me, but he didn't
have any input in the initial planning of it. Now,
and I heard you mentioned sweet potatoes and and I
think regular potatoes. Did you mixed potatoes or was there
just one type of potato you're reading on the stand?
I had all kinds of potatoes. Yeah, I didn't want to.
I wanted to be restrictive, but I didn't want to like,
(17:25):
you know, if I went to the to the store
and they only had one kind of potato available and
it wasn't the kind that I was eating, that was
going to make things hard, you know. So I just
decided to make it all kinds of potatoes, just the
logistical reasons. So, yeah, and obviously the potatoes pretty versatile
to cook. But well, what types of meals did you
make and and did your art of cooking the potato
(17:45):
evolved as you continued on this process. Yeah, Well, like
you briefly mentioned earlier, my I figured that a big
part of my problem with food was that I was
relying on it for comfort, enjoyment, emotional support, things like that.
Like at the end of a bad day, I would
get home and want to try to make myself feel
better by eating um, exciting, interesting food. So the idea
(18:09):
was that I wanted to make my food as boring
as possible so that I'd have to retrain my brain
to get that comfort and enjoyment and emotional support from
other areas of life rather than just from food. So
for that reason, I kept it for as boring as
possible on purpose. So per cent of my meals were
probably mashed potato, baked potato, or um or boiled potato,
(18:31):
or just playing and m Yeah. Every now and then,
maybe once a fortnight or even once a month, I
would do something a little bit more interesting, like, uh,
they make some oven baked chips or some potato waffles
or something like that. But really it was it was
all about learning to be happy with boring food. And
(18:52):
I got this saying making food boring in your life interesting.
So rather than spending my time and energy on trying
to make interesting, exciting food, I just tried to do
interesting and exciting things. It seems like a great way
to approach. And I'm curious, are you still eating potatoes
now that you've finished your year of only potatoes? Yeah?
I had mashed potatoes and rockets. I think you got
(19:13):
called a rugula mashed the tatoes and a rugula for breakfast. So, Andrew,
I'm curious. I know, you know, diet experts would probably
point out the lack of protein that you're getting in
this diet. So what what would you say to those
that that would be critical of the diet or be
concerned that you might not be getting enough protein or
or you know, other essentials in your diet. Yeah, well
(19:36):
there there are. I've had lots of input from diet
experts around the world and since I started doing this,
and it's it's interesting that potatos. I guess I have
a bad rat the table of things that they're lacking
in so much nutrition, but they've actually I was getting
when I was eating in the potatoes only, I was
getting idy flops and antigrams of protein a diet which
(19:59):
is death really well within the recommended daily intake. And
it's all the all the required essential amino acids getting covered.
So yeah, I find it a little bit disturbing when
expert make these claims. We're clearly not knowing what they're
talking about. And the potatoes, everyone knows they've got a
lot of carbohydrates, but they've also got the protein. Like
(20:20):
I mentioned, they've got a small amount of fat, which
is enough to give the body what it needs, especially
when you're carrying extra fat like I was. And uh,
and yeah, they've got a really good balance of all
the other vitamins and minerals that we need to So
my blood tests were getting better through the whole year,
and I was really getting everything I need from from
this diet. So yeah, no complaints there. So I was
(20:46):
curious how your marriage was affected by this, and and
what were you spending more time on instead of just cooking,
uh and thinking about food. Yeah, my marriage was only
affected in positive ways. My life was really supportive and
before I started this, I have now to take to
say that I gave a hundred percent of everything I
had to being the best husband I could and being
(21:08):
the best father I could. Um, but you know, I
was clinically depressed and hundred and twenty pounds more than
I am now, and so you know, a hundred percent
then is not the same as a hundred percent now.
So I'm able to give more these days, which means
my marriage and my life is has only been affected
in positive ways. Yes, so no complaints there, and my
(21:29):
wife was really supported from the start. It's amazing how
much time and space food takes up in your life
for you thinking about it, planning and preparing its, shopping
for it, cooking and cleaning up after it. All that.
You don't realize how much time and effort and energy
that all takes up until your remove it from your
life basically, So, yeah, I've added a lot into my life.
(21:53):
I'm doing a lot more exercise and and really I
guess most of my extra time and attention has just
gone into having fun with my loss and my boy.
And you know, at the time I'm used to spend
thinking about and planning and all that, it's it's just
spent on enjoying myself with them. I've wrestled with my
little boy and read books and my jugs, and you know,
(22:16):
we got walking and playing at the playground and it's
just all the little things in lot. But just got
a little bit of extra focus for I mean, that's
I decided there's one particular thing. It's just across the board,
I get a little bit more. I'm for each of
the more positive experiences and loss until that's wonderful. Well, Andrew,
this has just been fascinating, and congratulations on your success
(22:40):
with this. I really admire what you've accomplished. And as
you've put it before, it's it's not about the potato.
I mean. You can check out Andrew's book, The d
I Y spud Fit Challenge on Amazon or visit him
online at spud fit dot com. Andrew, thanks so much
for joining us today. Thanks so much for having me.
It's same fun and you have good luck with everything
you guys do. You're listening to part Time Genius and
(23:14):
we're talking about how to get by on the least
number of foods possible. Okay, Mango, So, after talking to Andrew,
I think we're in agreement that potatoes belong on our
list of the only foods you'll ever need. What do
you think about this? Absolutely? I mean, there are twenty
amino acids that humans need to survive, and while our
bodies produced most of those four us there are nine
essential acids that we only get from foods we eat.
(23:36):
And although most food supply at least a couple of
those essential aminoes, white potatoes can actually get you there
in one go. And it's funny that potatoes don't get
the coveted super food moniker like some of the others do.
But I agree with you on this. I mean they
belong in the card. And of course white potatoes aren't
enough on their own, since they lack some of the
much needed minerals and vitamins. You know, we think about
(23:56):
vitamins A and E, and as Andrew points out, a
true potato terry and I guess if that's a word,
they would need to add sweet potatoes to the mix
in order to survive long term. Yeah, that sweet potato
footnote really made me wonder how the Irish made it
through that famine in the eight hundreds, Like roughly a
third of the population lived mostly on plain potatoes during
those lean years, But I don't think they were farming
(24:18):
sweet potatoes. Yeah, I was actually curious about this as well,
so I decided to do a little digging into this.
And and the traditional go to meal for the Irish
peasants has been potatoes, milk, oats, beans, and bread. But
you know, by the time the famine struck, most peasants
had to sell their milk supplied just to make rent,
so their meals dwindled to potatoes, salted fish, and oatmeal,
(24:39):
and that was enough to keep them going for the
most part. It actually was. I mean that the fish
would have been high in protein and calcium, plus some
of the important minerals and vitamins, but the real saving grace,
surprisingly was actually the oatmeal. You see, even on a
diet that included both white and sweet potatoes, you'd still
be lacking a crucial mineral. And I have a hard
(25:00):
time pronouncing this mineral, but it's called molybdenum. I've never
heard of it, nobody has heard of it, and I
don't think anybody can say it. And it's it's often
called the most important element you've never heard of. So basically,
without molybdenum, your body would be unable to break down
the sul fights and turn them into usable sources of energy.
And since soul fights are naturally found in so many
(25:22):
foods we eat, including potatoes, most foods would eventually kill
you without it, you know, in order to take care
of the soul fights. But thankfully we really don't need
all that much of the mineral. In fact, the recommended
daily allowance for it is only about forty five micrograms,
so a little oatmeal actually does the trick. And you
just ask the Irish or the Scots for that matter.
(25:43):
And while researching, I found that the cornerstones of a
traditional Scottish diet where potatoes, oatmeal, milk and kale. And
now I'm actually thinking they all should have a place
on our list. It's a pretty great comba. I mean,
you could you could probably get buy on those four
a loan if you had to. Though, I think you
could make the case for swapping oats for barley just
because it has the same essential vitamins and minerals as
(26:05):
the other grains, but it also helps to manage those
cholesterol levels. Okay, so we've got a pretty good list
going here. We've got white and sweet potatoes as well
as oats are barley, and now we're adding milk and kale.
And of course I'm kind of sick of hearing people
talk about kill these days. Yeah, I know, I know
what you mean on this. So it does kind of
live up to its reputation though. It can help with
(26:25):
everything from cardiovascular support to the fight against things like
arthritis or asthma or diabetes, even cancer. It's been shown
in some studies. Plus it's super rich and vitamins and minerals.
I know, us that's super and five, I know, but
I feel like I'm in a kale ad well, I
mean mango. A single hundred gram serving of kale contains
(26:46):
way more than the recommended daily allowance for let's see here,
vitamin C, vitamin A, and vitamin K, and you can
order some using the coupon code kale dot com slash genius.
So to be clear, that's a fake coupon code. We
don't not on the Kale Lobby's dual. And while kale
has plenty going for it, it's not without its drawbacks. Really,
So why is that? Well, rock hille can be extremely
(27:09):
tough on the digestive system, and even cooked kale can
lead to hypothyroidism. That's if you eat too much of it,
and all that vitamin K you mentioned. I mean, it's
great in moderation, but too much can lead to the
formation of blood clots. So if you're already dealing with
blood clots, or if you're on a blood thinning medication,
you might want to subdend spinach instead. You know, it's
(27:29):
weird how it all gets more complicated than you think,
even with something like kale. But you know, you know,
still milk seems like a safe bet for the list.
If if you drink vitamin D fortified whole milk, your
body is getting a lot of what it needs right there.
You know, it's got carbs, protein, potassium, all the essential
amino acids, and of course, as we know, calcium pretty
(27:50):
much the only thing is missing our fiber. And apparently
it's so hard for me to say moleb molybdenum. Yes, exactly, alright,
So so grains and greens and potatoes would still need
to be on the menu to get your nutrition fixed.
But it really is amazing how close any one of
these foods can get you to a pretty healthy diet.
It is, and I know we already debunked the mono diet.
(28:10):
But there actually is one food that succeeds that, delivering
the complete nutritional package all on its own. And that's
better than an all potato diet and way way better
than the all chicken nugget diet. Do you like chicken nuggets? No?
I'm curious. Sorry, So, so what's this amazing mystery food?
Milk or specifically human milk. So, according to Joanne Hattner,
a nutrition consultant at Stanford and former national spokesperson for
(28:33):
the American Dietetic Association, mother's milk is a complete food
that means it's calorically sufficient and contains a little bit
of all the vitamins, minerals, and amino acids that we need. Yeah,
but you're talking about for babies though, right, Like adults
couldn't survive on breast milk, could they. Well, that's the catch.
Even though all the vital nutrients are in there, they
(28:53):
don't occur in high enough amounts to sustain an adult.
In fact, that that's why we ultimately add solid foods
to infant diet so that we can eef up the
amount of iron and other nutrients that they receive. And technically,
though anyone could survive solely on mother's milk, provided they
were able to you know, source enough of it. Well,
I don't think that's going to happen, thank God, exactly.
(29:13):
So our best bed is to stick to other mammal
milks like cows or goats. And if the milks for
mintage or you know, like a yogurt, that's all the
better because the added bacteria can do wonders for our
doguestive tracks. Welcome back to part time Genius Now. Earlier
(29:41):
we harped on fruitarians quite a bit, so I do
want to make sure we give fruit its to and
include at least one on our list. The problem is,
there's so many tasty fruits and pretty much all of
them are good for you. So I'm going to leave
it to you Mega. What's your pick? Well, everyone knows
by now that I have a soft spot for bananas,
and thanks to their high level a potassium and fiber
and lack of fire or salt, they're not a bad choice.
(30:05):
They are pretty sugary, though, and and a little week
in the calorie department. For example, have you heard of this, uh,
this YouTube phenomena Freely the Banana Girl. I can't say
that's in my list channels. Yeah, she's this Australian social
media darling and she practices a monodiet of just bananas,
and since the average banana only contains a hundred calories
or so, really scarves down fifty plus bananas every day
(30:28):
to keep her energy every day. Oh my gosh. Yeah.
So of course we'd be supplementing our fruit with other
things on our list, so we wouldn't have to eat
quite as many. But if we're trying to stick to
just one kind of fruit, there are probably better options.
Well why don't we go the other way for a
minute and maybe choose a high calorie fruit like avocados.
I mean they have fiber and potassium like bananas do,
(30:49):
plus vitamin E plenty of healthy fats that that helped
keep inflammation and cholesterol in check. They're just overall healthy. Yeah,
that definitely works. And avocados are great for breakfast or
lunch or dinner, and and they're more versatile than bananas
I guess. But another strong choice would be some kind
of berry, and any kind really. Blueberries and pomegranates are
popular choices because they're all packed with antioxidants and tons
(31:11):
of vitamin c. But I actually read this article and
Business Insider that ranked the nutritional value of a bunch
of berries, and the one that topped the list was
one I never would have thought elderberries. Elderberry never, never
would have thought if you ever had an elder actually
haven't had an elderberry, but a fairly elderberries surpassed their
cousins and potassium and iron and fiber and also vitamin
(31:32):
B six and see. And the only problem is that
eating too many raw ones can actually make you sick,
so you'd have to cook them down into a syrup.
But if you want to go with the second best berry,
that happens to be the BlackBerry. I have had that
type of berry, and they're very good. And it's definitely
easier to find blackberries too. I'm actually not sure I've
ever seen an elderberry in a grocery store. All right, So,
(31:53):
so fruits, veggies, grain, starch, and dairy are covered on
our list, And and now we need a dedicated protein.
And it's tempting to go with something like a decadent steak,
but you know, anything besides an ultra lean cut is
going to provide more saturated fat and cholesterol than you
really want when we're trying to come up with a
list like this, so I don't know. Instead, I say
we take another page from the Irish and opt for
(32:14):
maybe surf instead of turf. Yeah that sounds smart. So
what are you thinking? Well, any fish is going to
offer protein and healthy fat, but you really can't do
much better than salmon. I know, we talked about kale
earlier in the greens category, and much like that, salmon
has been the it thing within its category. It's been
the it fish for a while now, but it's loaded
(32:34):
with high quality protein, not to mention vitamin B twelve
and minerals like potassium and selenium. You know, while salmon
is a fattier fish, most of that comes from Omega
three fatty acids, and those help promote healthy brain function,
they produce joint inflammation, and they strengthen your heart. Yeah, well,
salmon is a strong pick. But in case any vegetarians
are listening, we should point out a few guilt free
(32:56):
alternatives for protein, and thankfully there are a ton of them,
like being pulses, nuts, and seeds. They're all fantastic protein
choices and they're much easier to carry, store or even
prepare than animal proteins, assuming that you pair them appropriately
to make a complete protein, like in the case of beans,
pairing them with rice. All right, so what would you
say are the best of the best for the plant
(33:16):
based proteins? Well, and this might be biased according to
the Bean Institute, which apparently is a thing. Beans contained
between protein by weight, and since that's much higher than
other sources of vegetable protein, you know, the nut or
seed options. I'd go with beans and different beans packed
different amounts of protein and other minerals, with black beans,
(33:39):
kidney beans, pinto, and soy tending to provide the most.
But that's the beauty of beans. No matter which one
you go with, it's going to be a good source
of protein and fiber, and it will also be fat free,
sodium free, and cholesterol free. Looks like beans for the wind.
I feel like you said beans a lot that I
do want to mention though, that it just like with
eating too many fruits or something like kale, there is
(34:00):
such a thing as too much protein. It's actually called
protein poisoning, or some people call it rabbit starvation. I've
never heard of this, but just saw in the research
and it occurs when or more of your calorie intake
is derived from protein. And the nickname actually has nothing
to do with malnourished bunnies or anything like that. He
comes from the early North American explorers who sometimes survives
(34:21):
solely on lane proteins such as rabbits, And this would
happen for weeks at a time, and that I had
often led to starvation because a person's liver it can
only process so many calories from lan proteins. Yeah. So
so remember, no matter where you get your protein, don't
overdo it. The bulk of your calories should be coming
from fats and carbs and not protein. Yeah, that's a
(34:42):
good tip. So there you have it. There are two
kinds of potatoes on our list, oats or barley, kaylor spinach,
milk or yogurt, avocados or berries, and salmon or beans.
And if you have extra room, maybe a package of
flaming hot cheetahs. Yeah, that would cover all of your
nutritional bases. But again, whether you want to or even
whether you should stick to a limited diet like this,
(35:04):
that's a whole different matter, maybe for a different episode
one day, totally, because while it makes sense on paper,
that we can restrict our diets, that's not really how
things play out in real life. So for for example,
there was a study in two thousand two where researchers
took data from fifty nine thousand women and found that
those who alternated sixteen to seventeen healthy foods through the
diet had a forty two lower mortality rate than those
(35:27):
who regularly ate between zero to eight healthy foods. So
even if you're eating mostly healthy foods like the ones
we listed today, you'll still be at a disadvantage if
you aren't varying what you eat. Yeah, and that actually
tracks with an article I read by a dietitian at
Glasgow Caledonian University. Her name is Jenny Jackson, and she
openly it meants that while we know a diet that
includes a variety of vegetables is healthier than eating just
(35:50):
a few, we actually don't know exactly why that's the case.
As she puts it, quote, we don't really know which
foods are causing which effects. So while you could workout
exactly what you needed from macro nutrients, you don't know
exactly what you might be missing. Yeah, I'd say the
real strength of a thought experiment like this is that
it reminds us of the practical purpose food serves. I mean,
(36:11):
humans have evolved to value the taste of food and
the experience of eating way more than any other species,
which of course I'm grateful for. But that focus on
the sensory can distract us from food's true purpose as
fuel for our lives. Yeah, I think that's exactly right.
And you know, at a time when people are so
wrapped up with food as a social experience or as
a form of entertainment instagramming What's on your plate or
(36:33):
writing reviews on yell, but it is a little sobering
to think about food is this basic necessity. But picking
apart the pros and cons of individual foods, it it
does give you a sense of not only what we're
putting in our bodies, but but why we're doing it.
That's definitely true. But you know, one thing you can
always safely consume without having to overthink it. I'm really
hoping this is not about breast milk again, they're part
(36:54):
time gene is fact off and and what do you say,
because we're both surprised by how nutritious the potato is,
we turned this into the potato edition. All right, sounds
good to me, m m so. According to a history
(37:15):
of Greece I found, there's an often told story that,
in order to popularize potatoes, in eight new governor Johnny
Cappadistas tried to give potatoes away, but the people were
totally uninterested. So we've placed armed guards in front of
a shipment as they were loaded off docks to make
them seem more important. And when the guards turned away
or left their positions, people just stole the potatoes. And
(37:36):
that's how the potatoes popularity spread there. But what strange
is that it isn't the first time leaders tried to
convince people to eat potatoes. According to an article and
mental floss quote, in the late seventeen hundreds, in an
effort to inspire their starving subjects to plant the newly
introduced vegetable, Marie Antoinette wore potato flowers in her hair,
and her husband, King Louis the sixteenth wore them in
(37:58):
his buttonholes. And while the move launched a new fad,
convincing French nobility to start wearing potato flowers, the plant
didn't have the intended effect. The lower classes resented the
propaganda and spurned the plant. So did you know that
potato parties used to be a thing in Japan and
South Korea? Like teenagers would go into McDonald's, ordered two
(38:18):
hundred dollars or more of fries and then just spread
them out on tables to eat while they hung out. Actually,
that sounds pretty delicious to me. I want to admit that. Well,
did you know that Mr Potato had was the first
toy advertised on television? I had forgotten that. The craziest
part to me was that you actually provide your own potato. Yeah, well,
since you knew that fact, how about this one? Did
(38:39):
you know that gardeners will sometimes put rose cuttings into
a potato, then plant the potato and the ground. Why
is that? Well, the potatoes full of nutrients so it
can actually help the rose grow. That's insane. Do you
know that uh Garbachev's life once tried to impress a
British minister by telling him that the Soviets had more
than three hundred ways to cook potatoes, and when he
(38:59):
doubted her, she sent him a cookbook of five dred
ways to cook a potato showed him all right, Well,
I mean I guess, with five hundred recipes from Russia alone,
we don't have to worry about pendil Lad and whether
he gets his variety anymore. But all right, I think
because of that fact, I'm gonna let you take home
the championship belt this week. That's it for today's Part
Time Genius. If you enjoy the show, feel free to
(39:20):
drop us a line on our seven fact hotline. That's
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(39:52):
Part Time Genius is a production of How Stuff Works
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(40:14):
show to your ears. Good job, Eves. If you like
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Jason who
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