Potato

Potatoes were first introduced outside the Andes region four centuries ago, and have become an integral part of much of the world's cuisine. It is the world's fourth-largest food crop, following rice, wheat, and maize.

The potato is a remedy against gout, scurvy, and rickets. A doctor tells how he cured a case of scurvy solely with raw potatoes. One of the favourite dishes of that good old doctor was a salad composed of sliced raw potatoes and olive oil.

In order to preserve the medicinal properties of potatoes when cooked, they must always be steamed in their jackets. The skin may be removed before eating, but care should be taken not to allow a particle of the potato to adhere to it. The valuable potash salts chiefly lie just under the skin. A raw potato scraped or powdered to a pulp is an excellent remedy for burns and scalds.

Some doctors recommend the following decoction with which to bathe the swollen and inflamed joints of rheumatic sufferers. Take 1 lb. potatoes, cut each into four, but do not peel them. Boil in 2 pints of water until stewed down to 1 pint. Strain,and use the liquid.

Eaten too excess potatoes can cause dullness and laziness.