The Dr. Gundry Podcast Which Potatoes Are Healthiest to Eat? | EP 394.B
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Mar 12, 2026 They dig into why many potato varieties are nightshades and the lectins concentrated in skins and eyes. They explain how starch type changes blood sugar and why pressure cooking and peeling can reduce harm. They highlight purple Okinawan sweet potatoes and resistant starch for microbiome benefits. They suggest lower-starch potato substitutes like cauliflower mash, jicama fries, and rutabaga.
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Potato Lectins Are In The Flesh Not Just The Skin
- Potatoes are nightshades and contain lectins concentrated in the peel and eyes, but also an aquaporin lectin in the flesh that can trigger reactions.
- Peeling doesn't remove all risk because the aquaporin lectin Dr. Stephen Gundry cites is present throughout the potato flesh.
Density Determines How Fast Potatoes Raise Blood Sugar
- Denser, waxy potatoes digest more slowly than high-starch baking potatoes, producing less rapid blood sugar spikes.
- Idaho baked potatoes have exposed starch granules when cut, so they convert to sugar faster than waxy varieties.
Pressure Cook Potatoes And Skip The Skins
- Pressure cook potatoes to destroy lectins and avoid eating the skins where lectins concentrate.
- Choose waxy potato varieties over starchy Idaho baking potatoes and discard skins to reduce lectin and starch impact.
