Potato Substitute & Oil For Mayonnaise

Question
Hello again Tanya,

I'm a 56 year old male having had a heart attack, stent, and cardiovascular disease since 2003. I am taking medications, fish oil, and other nutrients though.

I seem to bloat and gain weight when eating bread, pasta, potatoes, and especially High Fructose Corn Syrup. Meat, veggies, & fruits don't make me bloat. I drink the "Gunpowder" type green tea now and really love it sweetened with Stevia. The Stevia doesn't seem to add much weight on me.

I've made a home made mayonnaise using olive oil, turmeric, powdered mustard, plain yogurt, white wine, salt, & white pepper without egg whites or yolks. I'm just wondering if my cardiovascular system would benefit better by using another type of oil in this mayonnaise such as grape seed, flax seed, walnut, or some other heart healthy oil.

I love to saute some sliced fresh potatoes in olive oil to eat with baked fish & salad. Are there any other vegetables I could slice then saute or roast that would taste similar to a potato without the starch or weight gain? I live near an international market so I have access to vegetables from other countries if you recommend them.

Thank you very much.

Mike E.

Answer
Mike,

All you do seems OK. Go ahead experiment with the oils you've mentioned, they are all good for you.

As to your potato question, it's a very interesting and intriguing food. On one hand, yes, it's high in carbs. However, if you eat it with the skin, it's a great source of fibers, so you can subtract fiber grams from carb grams to get the net carbs. But there's more: potato, no one really knows why, has the highest satiety index - 323 (whole wheat bread is 154). Read a similar Q&A:

Potato pros and cons
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Nutrition-Dieting-939/2008/5/Potato-pros-cons.htm

Satiety index
http://atkinszone-faq.blogspot.com/2007/08/what-does-satiety-index-mean-for-diet...

Tanya Zilberter

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