Sharon wrote:Should I peel my potatoes when eating them with my chicken?
Definitely, that applies to all vegetables and fruit, also. Most of the fiber (and lectins, and pesticide residues, and other toxic residues) will almost always be found in the peel. Peelings are claimed to be high in nutrients, but the flip side (that the " food experts" rarely tell us), is that it's just as true that they are also high in anti-nutrients and toxic compounds.
With the nightshades (such as potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, etc.) there is another concern, and that is solanine and other glycoalkaloids that are produced naturally by the plant to defend against insects and other predators, and disease. Potato leaves, stems, and shoots are high in glycoalkaloids. There is a lower concentration in the tubers (the part we eat), but most of it is concentrated in the peel, and the first few millimeters of the outer surface of the flesh under the peel.
If potatoes (the tubers) are exposed to light, they slowly turn green as the glycoalkaloid production is increased. They do this to protect themselves, because they are programmed to recognize that if they are exposed to light, then they are probably also exposed to predators. The green color is from chlorophyll, not from glycoalkaloids, but you can be sure that if the green color is there, then the glycoalkaloid level (which can include both solanine and chaconine) has been increased, also.
So even if the potatoes are turning green, removing the peel (and a slight amount of the flesh below the peel), will make them safe to eat. Some people are more sensitive to glyucoalkaloids than others, but suffice to say that it is possible for unusually sensitive individuals to get a fatal dose if they eat the peel on potatoes that are turning green, and others who are less sensitive can become quite ill.
Potato peels might contain a lot of nutrients, but as much as I like potatoes, they are always peeled, first.
Tex
