According to the National Cancer Institute, in the US between 1970 and 1994, per person consumption of fruits rose by 22%, vegetables by 19%, and grain products by 47%. Fat and alcohol intakes are lower than they were at the beginning of the 1990s. That is the good news. The bad news is that more than 50% of potatoes -- the most popular vegetable -- are eventually eaten as French fries.

Cancer 1998;83:1278-1281, 1425-1432.

COMMENT: This article brought out a point that I suspected but never really bothered to confirm: traditional nutrition and medicine classify potatoes as vegetables. I believe this is a HUGE mistake as it gives people a false sense of doing well. Potatoes should be classified as a grain, just like corn. This food raises your sugar level far too high and too quickly. A baked potato is just about as deadly as a bowl of sugar. The fact that half of the potatoes are full of hydrogenated trans fat exponentially compounds the problem. French fries are deadly. My rough estimate is that they are more toxic than one cigarette. They should be avoided at all costs.