Depression and Unhappiness

Potatoes have long a staple of the British mealtime. Boiled, roasted, baked, fried, chipped, mashed or sautéed – there are endless ways to dress up the humble spud. They are eaten alone as a main meal, as a side slathered in butter, salt and pepper, used as a topping to a pie or mixed with cheese to produce a sumptuous filling feast.

Last week, it was reported that the first crop of Jersey Royal potatoes, the most prized spring crop of potatoes known for their papery easily removable skin and tender waxy flesh, may fail due to Jersey being hit by drought after only 2mm of rain fell across the islands whilst the rest of the UK was barricading itself against torrential bank holiday rain. Already two weeks late due to the harsh 2009/10 winter, the drought, one of the worst in the past 34 years, has had severe repercussions on the 2010 season’s estimated yield. Normally over 30,000 tonnes find their way across to these shores at this time of year, but reports are not clear about how much this figure will be affected, although ‘a significant reduction’ is expected by the Jersey Royal Company.


Talking From Experience
Hands up – I am a potato lover. Growing up I had them any which way they came. Hot, cold, straight out of the fridge, covered in salad cream, butter or just plain, I didn’t care. Potatoes are a dietary staple – cheap, easy to cook, in a variety of ways and totally satisfying because Like bread or pasta, they are an easy way to fill up, but because the brain loves the easy access to glucose cravings are easy to come by.

Rather than being the healthy food that they are purported to be, potatoes deliver a huge amount of glucose to the blood stream, the reason why, after a large jacket potato you get that knackered, head-nodding feeling about an hour after you’ve eaten.

When we subject our bodies to relentless energy surges it begins to rely on this as an energy source and cravings quickly ensue; glucose releases happy chemicals called endorphins into the brain and it is this momentary feeling (as well as the physiological response) that can cause addiction. This process is an underlying factor to weight gain. If we eat more carbohydrate than our body needs then the glucose is converted into fat.

Contrary to popular belief, potatoes are not actually vegetables – they are tubers and have very little fibre or nutrients to slow digestion. The skins contain a little chromium and vitamin C – so if you don’t eat the skin or it is burnt to a cinder then you’re missing out on the little nourishment available.