People in my area talk about drinking potato juice on an empty stomach. It would be great for your stomach and it would help against epilepsy, arthritis, cancer and cardiovascular disease. I find this hard to believe. What do you think?
Joris Bartstra, journalist with medical diploma
A potato is a storage of moisture and nutrients for the plant, comparable to carrots, beets and tubers. Such a tuber does not only contain the reserve food (in a potato mainly starch), but also substances that inhibit the growth of bacteria and fungi and which regulate the growth of the plant itself to prevent the tuber itself from growing again immediately. Pharmacologists see there a world of substances that you could possibly make a medicine from. Sometimes a lab experiment makes the press. When an enthusiastic journalist collects these kinds of stories, the potato suddenly becomes a remedy for all ills. Yet no placebo-controlled study has ever been conducted into the effect of potato juice in any condition. Stomach complaints are also reduced with treatments for which the effect has not been demonstrated. The cause is often unknown and the burden you suffer from it varies. If your stomach is bothering you, chances are it will be better tomorrow. If you take a remedy for it, you attribute the improvement to the treatment, while otherwise it would have gone better.
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