I’m Dutch, German and Irish— so how could I not be a potato freak?  I like them roasted and scalloped, baked, mashed and stuffed, au gratin, steamed, grated, parboiled, plain and in any sauce served.  And of course, as chips and fries.

My dad likes to joke that if I’m ever autopsied, they’ll find chips.

Segue to my professional life in women’s health….gynecology and reproductive health, fertility, body image, eating issues and women’s identity concerns, aging. 

I once had a dream that I was lying on a gurney outside an operating room in a hospital with hundreds of IV’s leading out of my arm transporting my blood into the OR where women were giving birth and having miraculous recoveries.  This doctor comes out of the OR and says, “I need a sample of your blood. I want to know what’s in it that’s making all these women well.”  So he comes back with his report and shows it to me and tells me my bloodwork is perfect except for one thing:  I’m high in potatoes.

My husband loves this dream. He says it’s my conscience playing with me when I’m overboard on the chips.  He says I hold my chip bag like its gold bullion, protecting it lest anyone try to wrest it from me.

So what if chips and fries have evil hydrogenated oils, which are not only carcinogens but contribute to neurodegeneration—both of which relate to arachidonic acid metabolism and tumor initiation.  Once you know anything about fried food, it’s kind of hard to choose it on the menu.  And Did I mention artery clogging?

I’m good with the fries. It’s the chips that undo me.  Even if you can dismiss the hidden health risks from your mind in a chip-fever, there’s still what I call the “butt-enhancing” effect.   Potatoes are in the same category as pasta and bread:  in the mouth, straight to the thighs.

So as my incredible assistant – Liz—and I were trying to assuage our guilt around this afternoon’s butt-enhancing, cancer risking, artery clogging, brain degenerating snack, she turned to me and said, “We’ll just have to take the karmic view, it might be killing us now, but we’ll live again.”

Belly laughs between us.

At Oriens we layer the 80/20 rule with the Pleasure Principle when it comes to food.  80 percent of the time you make choices that build your health and a super solid foundation that can’t be rocked by anything you do with that other 20 percent.  The Pleasure Principle states that food and eating should be enjoyable…pleasure is a nutrient.  So when Kathryn Flynn builds the Oriens Weight Optimization programs or her Hormone Balance meal plans, or develops any kind of Nutrition protocol for our clients, she’s always making sure you will LOVE your food.

For me, potatoes are here to stay…and are a staple on my 20% list.  Yum!

Elizabeth Carpenter, MS, L.Ac., CEFP, Founder and Director of Oriens

PS:  Although I am a big advocate of 80/20 – remember what the 80 really means. Attend to your nutrition, and exercise, and choose a lifestyle that reduces stress and  entertains all the feelings and identity shifts around this issue and this time of one’s life.  (At Oriens, we always feature the Big 4 of self care: Nutrition, Acupuncture, MAM, and Spiritual Counseling.) And LOVE the 20 – it’s a vital part of THIS amazing life!

About Elizabeth Carpenter:  I maintain an ongoing dialogue with collaborators, mentors and role models in my commitment to women’s health and women’s issues. Specialties: Patient Evaluation & Program Planning, Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine, Bowen Therapy, Natural Facelift Alternatives