PERSECUTED POTATO

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 115, 10 February 1944, Page 3

PERSECUTED POTATO

In spite of its remarkable record as an article -of food, the everyday potato is studiously avoided by many people who are scared of putting on.weight. Yet the - same people would probably think nothing of having one —or more —slices of chocolate cake. In fact, there is an exaggerated tendency to pick on the potato as a fattening agent, and at the same time ignore, in a practical way, the properties of butter, bread, scones, cakes and sweets,’in that direction. Let it be said in defence of the potato that it supplies many things besides the calories that tend to frighten calory-conscious people, in other words, the overweights. The potato is richer in vitamin C than many varieties of apples, for instance, and its introduction in Europe, was responsible for banishing outbreaks of scurvy during the winter months, states a Health Department bulletin. It also contains iron for preventing anaemia; it contributes considerable quantities of vitamin B. which is essential to normal growth. There is as much vitamin B in five ounces of potato as there is in a slice of bread from a sandwich wholemeal loaf. Another important thing is that potatoes are mpre widely appreciated than any other vegetable. They are, in fact, part of the staple diet. The average daily consumption of potatoes in New Zealand (50z.), is small compared with the prewar consumption of Britain (Ooz.), Germany and France (17dz.), and Belgium (19oz). Consequently, people inclined to blame the potato for “extra condition” might well be advised to look elsewhere for the cause, ■'