8 THE POTATO 



gestion. Even physicians often prohibit its use 

 on the supposition that it is likely to ferment in 

 the stomach a mistaken notion, as the writer 

 will show. The belief is quite general that the 

 potato especially promotes fat-making, and hence 

 that its use must be avoided by persons who have 

 a tendency to obesity. This is also an error. All 

 foods tend to produce obesity when taken in ex- 

 cessive quantity; that is, more than the individual 

 needs to maintain his nutrition on equilibrium. 

 No foods produce excess of fat when limited in 



itntity to actual daily bodily needs. 



' The potato is truly a most remarkable product. 

 It contains within its aseptic covering a rich store 

 of one of the most easily digestible of all forms of 

 starch. The observations of Mosse, Von Noorden 

 and others have shown most conclusively that the 

 starch of the potato is more easily digested and ap- 

 propriated by the body than the starches of wheat, 

 corn, and most other cereals. In laboratory tests 

 made by the writer it was found that potato starch 

 digested in less than one sixth of the time of cereal 

 starches. The experience of hundreds of phy- 

 sicians in the treatment of diabetics has shown 

 that in many cases the starch of the potato is 

 more easily assimilated or better utilized than 

 other forms of starch. 



"Potato gruel made from specially prepared 

 potato meal or the pulp of baked potatoes has 

 been found in Germany of very great service in 

 the feeding of infants and invalids. Potato starch 

 is far better for this purpose than cornstarch, arrow- 

 root and similar substances which are pure starch 

 and cannot be properly considered as foods. The 

 long continued use of these starches in the feeding 

 of young infants often results most disastrously. 



