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Potato Intolerance
I have recently been "diagnosed" with a potato intolerance. Now, I had never HEARD
of an intolerance to potatoes, so I set out to find more information on the 'net.
Unfortunately, there isn't much. Among those who test for this particular intolerance,
it is apparently not seen infrequently; however, those who do not test for it have
pretty much never heard of it! I was not able to find a list of specific products
which are or are not safe, so I thought I would begin adding products to this page as
I found out about them. If you know of others, please let me know.This potato group to which I am intolerant includes potatoes, sweet potatoes, and yams. (These are not all actually potatoes, but they fall into the same group for this particular purpose.) Kabuki squash, jicama, and Jerusalem artichokes (sun chokes) are related to potatoes and potato-intolerant people may be intolerant of them.
Yeast is, apparently, often cultured on potatoes. However, Fleischmann's assured me that their yeast is not. (Because it has been a while and I did not immediately write it down, I cannot recall what they told me it is cultured on.
Baking powder apparently also sometimes contains potatoes, in the form of the starch used as a filler/buffer. (This buffer keeps the powder from "acting" before you add it to your recipe.) Rumford baking powder does not contain potatoes. (It does contain corn, so if you're allergic to corn, you will want to avoid it.)
B vitamins may be cultured from a potato base. This is quite problematic, since most flours, pastas, breakfast cereals, etc. are "enriched" with these vitamins! Anything with "enriched flour" as an ingredient (and, of course, the enriched flour itself) is suspect. White rice is frequently "enriched," as well. ("Enriched" really only means that the manufacturers have replaced a tiny percentage of the nutrients they originally removed from the grain, so it isn't a wise food choice, anyway. However, sometimes there are few options.) So far, the companies I have called (including Carnation, in reference to their Instant Breakfast) have told me that all of their B vitamins, or all but B12, are chemically synthesized, and nothing comes from potatoes.
According to my paperwork, dextrose is sometimes a potato sugar derivative. I have yet to come across any dextrose which is not, in fact, a corn derivative, but I avoid eating anything which contains dextrose without first calling the manufacturer to inquire. Most table salt contains dextrose. (Good quality sea salts - those that clump - generally do not.)
Other potato derivatives may include "modified food starch," "hydrolyzed vegetable protein," "vegetable broth," MSG (also labeled as "monosodium glutamate" or "natural flavorings"), "propylene glycol," some plastic wraps or food storage bags (so that they are biodegradable, apparently), and penicillin-type antibiotics.