this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2026
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[–] PapaSkwat@lemmy.wtf 0 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I've read about other people doing this in the past. There was a study by a guy back in 1912, Dr. Mikkel Hindhede who wanted to prove that a very simple diet could keep a person perfectly healthy.

One of his laboratory assistants, Frederik Madsen, volunteered for the experiment. For an entire year, Madsen ate nothing but potatoes and milk (sometimes described as potatoes + buttermilk or potatoes + a little fat). He stayed totally healthy the whole time, with no deficiencies, full energy, and perfect physical condition.

Also, I have personal knowledge of this style of eating. Because I do almost same thing. Six days a week, I only eat potatoes and milk. On saturdays I eat beans, rice, and corn tortillas. (I was inspired by the Hindhede study, by the way)

I've done it for almost 2 years and no issues at all. I did it mostly for savings, since I wanted to cut my budget really low, so I could hurry up and pay off my house (which I had already been working on paying off by working overtime and side jobs.)

It worked. I paid off my house last year. Now no mortgage at all. :)

And I work out every day, and last medical check up showed that I'm ideal weight, ideal health, no issues at all.

After reading how many Lemmy posters are overweight, um, I think a lot of people should try the potatoes only thing. It sucks for first 2 weeks, but then your body adjusts tho.

[–] socsa@piefed.social 5 points 1 week ago

I assume he made a FULL recovery

[–] atropa@piefed.social 5 points 1 week ago

Nothing wrong with eating potatoes every day, Europe owes a lot to the potatoes, see what happened in Ireland in 1845/49 when the harvests failed .
Even tulip bulbs were eaten by the Dutch in times of famine

[–] LastYearsIrritant@sopuli.xyz 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

This happened 16 years ago, and makes no mention of his bloodwork aside from basic cholesterol stuff. Would like to see a little more balanced information on the negative impacts of this. Clearly you can't live on only potatoes forever.

Even Mark Watney supplemented with a multivitamin (and vicodin).

[–] PapaSkwat@lemmy.wtf 0 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

If you drink milk, and yeah, a multivitamin, you're good to go. Pretty much covers all your body needs. I've been doing it for almost 2 years. No issues, and my bloods came out fine at my health checkup.

In the 18th and early 19th centuries, (before the Great Famine) lots rural Irish families lived for decades on a diet that was overwhelmingly potatoes + buttermilk/milk. They often ate 5–8+ pounds of potatoes per day. This diet was credited with keeping them relatively healthy and producing tall, strong men (many Irish were prized as soldiers/recruits partly because of it).

[–] Sunshine@piefed.ca 1 points 1 week ago

The Martian IRL

[–] atropa@piefed.social 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)