Chips can never be down for potatoes

Given the near universal prevalence of the potato today, it is curious that there are very few studies to determine any link between the humble spud and mortality. Now a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition this month has asserted that those who eat fried potatoes — aka french fries, tater tots, hash browns, chips etc — are more prone to “premature mortality” than those who consume them in other forms. Alarming as this ‘discovery’ sounds, it is unlikely that will make Indians forsake their aloo bhujiya and tikkis any time soon. Nor is the market for fried potatoes expected to dip in the West either.

After all, it is only a correlational study, which experts reassuringly have clarified means there was no direct evidence of people dying due to eating fried potatoes. It is just that those in the target group — all middle-aged or old — who died during the eight-year period of the study ate their potatoes fried rather than any other way.

While that link cannot be disregarded, diehard potato fans can rightfully claim that ingested atmospheric pollution is way more harmful than a packet of chips or fries can be. Indepth research using larger, more diversified groups is clearly needed to ascertain whether potatoes (and momos) really do kill. And it is unlikely that there will be a dearth of volunteers to try out India’s favourite tuber in various forms.