Killer crispy potatoes... the delicious poison you feed your kids

Some historians believe that Marie Antoinette, the last queen of pre-revolution France, had adopted potato flower decorations for her hair, and this was also done by her husband, Louis XVI, and historians interpret this act as an attempt by them to encourage farmers to plant more potatoes.

After the spread of potatoes in America and Europe, this fruit began to enter the field of industry and prompted manufacturers to devise an industrial model that suits it, and this contributed to the use of intensive fertilizers and arsenic as the first synthetic pesticide to eliminate the potato beetle in Colorado.

All this explains the popularity of potatoes since ancient times, and their ability to maintain their place on our tables to this day.

(1)

A strange coincidence and a cold war were behind the creation of the most famous crackers we enjoy these days.

It was in 1853, when french fries became popular and at the top of the menu.

In New York, a hard-to-please customer entered a restaurant and ordered a plate of French fries to try, but as soon as the dish arrived, he returned it, commenting that it was wide and not crunchy. The chef adjusted the dish, but the customer returned it again, which made the chef feel the heat of insult in his kitchen Scratch his face.

As a retaliatory move from him, he cut the potatoes into thin pieces like paper so that it is difficult for the customer to eat them with a fork, and even force him to use his hands, but this revenge made the customer satisfied to the point that he devoured the entire dish, expressing his admiration for his meal, hence the idea of ​​potato chips.

During the following decades, the crunchy chips became a favorite product of millions around the world, and they were artistically prepared by adding different flavors, making them stand at the top of the scale of the crisps, which are often the first choice and companion on trips, home evenings, and other occasions.

Unfortunately, there is always bad news. The product that we all love may be dangerous to our health and the health of our children and loved ones to an extent that we cannot imagine.

Hoax.. fact.. or rumor!

“All potato chips contain acrylamide, and acrylamide is dangerous for your body because it can cause cancer.”

Alise Cappel, Director of Research at the California Environmental Law Foundation (2)

The European Union conducted a 3-year study aimed at discovering food toxins resulting from heat, and the study concluded that there are more than 800 heat-produced compounds, including 52 probable carcinogens.

One of these is a dangerous chemical known as acrylamide, which causes mutations in DNA that may be responsible for increasing the risk of cancer and possibly lead to neurological disorders.

[3] In 2003, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urged consumers to limit consumption of food sources that contain acrylamide.

It is also worth noting that the manufacturers are not directly responsible for adding this substance to many of the products that contain it, as it is a secondary substance that results from cooking some starchy foods at a high temperature.

(4) (5)

Here, the consumer may wonder how to reduce his exposure to this toxic substance that covers many products, and is responsible for the shiny brown color that covers most baked goods, potato chips, smoke, crackers, coffee, and cakes, and at this point in particular our responsibility to choose what we eat and the extent to which we are able to get ourselves to stop or reduce the intake of harmful foods even if they stimulate our appetite (6).

Is there an alternative?

Researchers confirm that 30% of the diseases that affect us are primarily due to the diet followed by the individual, and herein lies the responsibility.

We can't always blame the manufacturers of the products we can reduce our consumption of, especially if there are question marks and danger around them or an ingredient.

In this regard, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has provided some tips for consumers to help them enjoy homemade potato chips and reduce exposure to this toxic substance by buying them ready-made (7):

• First: Avoid overcooking, as acrylamide is formed in a greater proportion the longer the frying time is under high temperature.

• Second: Do not store potatoes in the refrigerator, as low temperatures in the refrigerator can increase the rate of acrylamide formation when cooking.

• Third: It is recommended to cut the potato slices and soak them in water for 15-30 minutes before cooking, this step reduces the percentage of acrylamide formation during cooking.

• Fourth: The golden color of ripe potatoes is the safe color. Whenever the potatoes become brown, this indicates the formation of a high percentage of acrylamide.

Innocent acrylamide guilty of olestra!

The manufacturers of crispy potato chips may be innocent of adding acrylamide, as it self-forms during cooking, but that doesn't mean they aren't completely guilty of our health.

In return, companies add a fatty emulsion called Olestra, which is a substance that the human stomach cannot absorb and therefore is excreted in the stool, causing diarrhea, stomach discomfort and digestive problems that may eventually put children at risk of malnutrition.

It goes beyond that to get the vitamins in the fat, as this substance dissolves them and excretes them through the stool, causing vitamin deficiency, which causes various health problems in children and adults as well.

(8), (9), (10)

Next time you grab a bag of crispy potato chips, the snack we feed our kids and ourselves, the cucumbers that are sweeping shelves in all its flavors and colors, and the product that sparks competition between global and local producers, remember that it contains toxic acrylamide, along with Olestra, and if that is not enough to abstain, you can also remember the following (11), (12):

• First: Potato chips contain a high percentage of saturated fats, which pose a great danger to the arteries of the heart as a result of their deposition.

• Second: These chips are fried in oils of unknown source, and the time of their renewal is unknown, and this increases the chances of containing trans fats, which the Food and Drug Authority advises to completely avoid in our diet.

• Third: Fried slices increase the secretion of stomach acids, which in turn increases the risk of stomach diseases, such as: gastroenteritis and ulcers.

The appeal to your health will not stop.

The advice of specialists will not be altered by the necessity of returning to everything that is natural, and offering alternatives to every industrialist. We do not know what materials and compounds and the way they were made!

Stand by your health

As noted above, the potato has a long and exciting history. It was worshiped by the Inca tribe in the highlands of Peru, and was blamed for the Great Famine in Ireland when the potato crops in Europe spoiled.

Today, potatoes are the fourth largest food crop in the world!

The favorite of everyone, old and young, in all its crunchy, mashed, fried and baked forms (13).

Even in movie fantasies, the movie "the martian" tells us that potatoes have a chance to be successfully grown on Mars!

However, the call to maintain your health will not stop despite all this, and the advice of specialists will not change the necessity of returning to everything that is natural, and avoiding harmful industrial substances and compounds.

Dr. Alan Greens says the foods we eat are the main source of chemicals in our bodies.

In 2005, a study was conducted on infants, and the result was shocking.

Where there were approximately 200 industrial chemicals contained in the infant's body at the moment of birth, and when Dr. Greens was asked about how food changed over time and how all this affected us;

His short answer deserved our consideration: "It hasn't changed, but my father's and your father's food when they were children was only organic."

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