Tip Potatoes Are Paleo Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Diet & Fat LossEating Tip Potatoes Are Paleo You don' t have to give up tubers to try a paleo-style diet They are paleo and they won' t make you fat anyway Here' s the science by Chris Shugart November 25, 2018April 26, 2022 Tags Dietary Myth Busting, Feeding the Ideal Body, Nutrition & Supplements, Tips Perplexing Paleo Read a dozen books on paleo dieting or "ancestral health." Go ahead, I'll wait here. All done? Okay. What you may have noticed is that most of these books say that potatoes are not paleo and shouldn't be eaten. A couple might say they're okay anyway after tough workouts, even though they "aren't paleo." And one or two sources will say that sweet potatoes are okay, but not white potatoes. That's usually based on the rather outdated glycemic index, or that one poorly done (but widely circulated) study that used French fries and potato chips to conclude that "white potatoes are bad." So what's the real deal? Well, let's first figure out if potatoes were something eaten by our caveman ancestors. Evolutionary scientists discovered a long time ago that the human race experienced rapid brain growth and an accompanying uptick in intelligence at a certain point in history. This is typically attributed to the discovery of fire and figuring out how to use it for cooking meat. "Sorry, Grog, I tripped and dropped some monkey meat into the campfire. Now, dude, this is gonna sound crazy, but I ate it! Now I'm going to invent barbecue sauce and open a chain of fast-casual caves..." Yep, pretty sure that's exactly how it happened. But in recent years, scientists have also found a link between human brain development and starches, primarily the tubers – veggies in the potato family – that were available to hunter-gatherers. A study published in The Quarterly Review of Biology put it all together. Here's the gist: An evolutionary multiplication of human salivary amylase genes happened somewhere around a million years ago. The scientists noted: "Salivary amylase genes are usually present in many copies (average 6) in humans, but in only 2 copies in other primates. This increases the amount of salivary amylase produced and so increases the ability to digest starch." The brain uses up a whole lot of blood glucose, and carbs are the most efficient source. When cooked, starches lose their crystalline structure and become easy to digest. All the above slowly lead to better fueled brains, which grew over generations and generations until someone with one of those big brains invented the internet and sex robots. Now, the idea behind paleo is to get rid of highly-processed modern foods and get back to the ways of Grandpa Grog – to eating foods that our physiology evolved to handle during our evolution. Well then, based on the study and what we know about the evolution of the salivary amylase gene, we evolved a long, long time ago to handle starchier vegetables like potatoes and yams. So, paleo people, relax and have a baked potato with your green veggies and venison. Just skip the artificial bacon bits. Hardy K et al. The Importance of Dietary Carbohydrate in Human Evolution. Q Rev Biol. 2015 Sep;90(3):251-68. PubMed. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Diet & Fat Loss Tip Better Than Intermittent Fasting Intermittent calorie restriction works better than regular dieting or even intermittent fasting. Here's the science. Diet Plan, Diet Strategy, Losing Fat, Nutrition & Supplements, Tips TC Luoma December 16 Eating The Hidden Story About Calories and Weight Loss Calories don't matter? Wrong. Calories are all that matter? Also wrong. Here's the nuanced truth about metabolism, calories, and weight loss. Diet Strategy, Dietary Myth Busting, Losing Fat, Nutrition & Supplements Dr Jade Teta June 26 Supplements Tip Why Your Vitamin D Isn t Working Taking vitamin D? Awesome. Just about everyone needs to. Too bad it's probably not working. Here's why and how to fix it. Magnesium, Nutrition & Supplements, Super Health, Tips, Vitamin D Chris Shugart March 12 Diet & Fat Loss Tip Eat Less Exercise More Not Always Sure, it works temporarily for sedentary people, but then it stops working and leads to fat regain. Here's why. Diet Strategy, Feeding the Ideal Body, Nutrition & Supplements, Tips Dr Jade Teta December 6