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Cutting down on fried potatoes (French fries)

zzz0r

Senior Member
Messages
181
I posted this in this section of the forum as I think it is related to candida.

As I am trying to battle candida I have cut down on sugars and fruits (it is debated if you need to cut down on fruits, but every person is different and I think in my case I need to stop every type of sugar).

I have been eaing fried potatoes (french fries) on a daily bases. I think that potatoes also convert into sugar in the blood stream. So I decided to cut down on them also. However since I stop eatting my fried potatoes my sleep quality has been dramatically worsen.

To be more precise I do not feel well rested after I wake up and I think I do not go into deep REM sleep.

I am trying to find out what is going on. Is it some kind of withdrawal symptom? Is it low carbs? (I have been trying to put other stuff in my diet to make up for the lost carbs of the fried potatoes, like more salads or rice but it does not seem to help) Could also be related to low sugar and insulin...

Any ideas?
 

Dmitri

Senior Member
Messages
219
Location
NYC
Do you have GERD, gastroparesis or other stomach abnormalities? I tried going on low carb in the past, but the lack of bread and/or potatoes to relax my stomach led to a host of new problems, including abdominal burning, dehydration and difficulty sleeping.
 

alex3619

Senior Member
Messages
13,810
Location
Logan, Queensland, Australia
Rice, potato, wheat ... all starches are basically a big chain of glucose molecules. There are three primary energy sources: carbs, protein and fats. Salads contain carbs but in small amounts and have lots of beneficial micronutrients, as do any non-starch vegetables. High starch vegetables are just sugar in another form.
 

caledonia

Senior Member
Interesting that rice wouldn't be helpful, as that is also a starchy carb. I think white rice is more on the glycemic side.

It's hard to say what "french fries" are without a more detailed explanation. Something pre-fried and frozen from the supermarket, and then heated up is a lot different and more processed than, say, a baked potato.

I do oven fries, they're made from scratch - so real potatoes cut up and tossed in some olive oil then baked. Those don't aggravate my hypoglycemia.

Sweet potatoes are better than white potatoes in terms of glycemic index. So it might be worthwhile to experiment with those.

So there may be two things going on with your sleep. You may have some adrenal fatigue, and do better with some starchy carbs which aren't high glycemic. Steel cut oats (also called Irish oats or pin oats) are another one I do well with. This would be better than the more highly processed oatmeal.

The other may be that you're getting some magnesium and/or potassium from the potatoes and that helps you relax and sleep. So some supplementation of one or both of those may be helpful. That's also an adrenal fatigue symptom.
 

zzz0r

Senior Member
Messages
181
I have tried uping my magnesium and potassium but it did not help. I think tI have balanced those two long ago. I gues it could be more related to sugar problems? Are fried fries low glycemic? by cutting down on those how do I stress my adrenals?
 

Dechi

Senior Member
Messages
1,454
Fries are high glycemic index food. If you're cutting sugars, you should be cutting sll high GI foods. Anyways, I can't see how esting fries everyday would be good for anyone