History
Did you know that the potato was "domesticated" about 10,000 years ago in the south of Peru, and was only brought to Europe by Spanish sailors in 1570? In the history of the American presidential residence, the White House, the year 1801 is recorded as the first year when presidents were also served fried potatoes (Thomas Jefferson was the brave man who ordered it). Potato mold was to blame for the fact that in 1845, a million people died of starvation in Ireland, and a million of them emigrated to the USA (Ireland is the only country, besides Serbia, that has a larger population abroad than at home). In 1995, potatoes became the first food to grow in space, and 2008 was declared the Year of the Potato by the United Nations.

Today, we eat 324,181,889 tons of potatoes every year, which is a good 40 kilograms per inhabitant of Zamlja.

Composition
100 grams of potatoes have 200 calories and zero fat. Although it seems that potatoes are ideal for weight loss (they consist mainly of water and fiber), unfortunately this is not the case. On the other hand, 100 grams of potatoes contain 30% of the daily amount of vitamin C, 39% of the daily consumption of vitamin B6, potatoes help with headaches, muscle pain, high blood pressure and even prevent the spread of metastases.

Production
The largest producer of potatoes is, surprisingly, China, where 73 million tons are produced. India is second with 34 million tons, and Russia is third (31 million tons). Ukraine and the USA follow (both 20 million each), and then four European countries follow each other in the ranking: Germany (12), Poland (10), France (7) and the Netherlands (7).

Precisely because of these data, it is interesting to look at the consumption as well. Belarus, which is in 10th place with 7 million tons of annual production, is the first in terms of consumption, as the average Belarusian eats 181 kilograms of potatoes per year. Kyrgyzstan is in second place with 143 kilograms per inhabitant, and Ukraine is third (136 kg). The Russians are fourth with 131 kilograms, followed by Poland (131 kg) and the first African country, Rwanda (125 kg). The English are the highest among European countries, where on average they eat at least 102 kilograms of potatoes per year.

And where are Slovenians on the consumption scale?

We produce 79,300 tons of potatoes per year, and consume 143,900 tons, or about 72 kilograms per inhabitant per year.

Did you know...
If the numbers haven't made you dizzy yet, let's throw in a few more.

350,000 tons of potatoes, or just a good per mille of the annual production, are used for industrially produced potato chips (a tenth of which are produced by Irish companies). Americans spend $6 billion a year on chips alone. In addition, potatoes provide bread for 60,000 workers in the United States and 80,000 in Europe.

The truth about potatoes
The fact that Slovenians are potato eaters is the fault of Maria Theresa, who literally forced potatoes on Slovenia (quite a few farmers' revolts are recorded) and thus (almost) eradicated hunger in our country a quarter of a millennium ago.

Today we know that 100 grams of potatoes is the same starch bomb as if you ate a quarter cup of white sugar. In terms of its composition, it is very close to refined starch and dangerously contributes to abdominal (!) obesity and is an accelerator of degenerative diseases (for example, type 2 diabetes).

And one more thing... when they surveyed 12,000 healthy individuals at Harvard University, they revealed three foods, among others, that are most to blame for today's generation of young people being overweight. These are:

• baked potatoes
  
• potatoes in any other form
  
• fruit juices and carbonated drinks.

So: is it healthy to eat potatoes?

The answer is simple: no.