> [Potatoes] When a person has limited money for food, potatoes are a better staple than beans or oats. Starches associated with saponins, alkaloids, and other potentially pro-inflammatory things make them a less than ideal food, if you have digestion-related health problems, and if you can afford to choose. New potatoes are tastier, less starchy, and probably less likely to cause digestive irritation. > [How much starch is ok?] When starch is well cooked, and eaten with some fat and the essential nutrients, it's safe, except that it's more likely than [[sugar]] to produce fat, and isn't as effective for mineral balance. > [How much cooked starchy food is safe in the diet?] There isn't enough information to judge, but a fair part of the carbohydrate should be in the form of sucrose, [[fructose]], and/or lactose. If it's well cooked, and eaten with butter, it's probably safe for many people. > [Limiting endotoxins] Keeping a fairly quick transit time usually goes with an abundance of digestive secretions, keeping the small intestine free of bacteria. Fiber, good [[thyroid]] function, and antiseptic foods such as cooked mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and raw carrots help. [Forum Discussion](https://archive.ph/o/OJZkW/https://raypeatforum.com/community/threads/rp-email-advice-discussion-safe-fiber.13575/) > [Is tapioca starch used as thickening ingredient something that can cause endotoxin?] Yes, any starch can; long cooking, and butter or cream, can reduce that effect. > [Mercola on starch and and acrylamide - [http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/07/17/acrylamide.aspx](https://archive.ph/o/OJZkW/articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/07/17/acrylamide.aspx)] [[PUFA]] (omega-3 and -6 oils, also called polyunsaturated fatty acids) break down into several toxic things, including acrolein, which oxidizes to form acrylate, and both of them react with ammonia or amines to form acrylamide. I haven't read the article, but it does seem odd that they would think the starch was the source of the acrylamide.