When people think Irish food, they think potatoes, which reminds me of the whole “are potatoes paleo?” debate.

Although the potato is now associated with industrial-scale monoculture, the International Potato Center in Peru has preserved almost 5,000 varieties. (Martin Mejia / AP Images)

First off, if you don’t know your potato history, this Smithsonian article can bring you up to speed: “How the Potato Changed the World.” The subtitle gives you a taste as to the sweep of the potato’s history: “Brought to Europe from the New World by Spanish explorers, the lowly potato gave rise to modern industrial agriculture.”

And specific to Ireland and potatoes, Wikipedia can explain how and why a potato blight led to massive starvation in Ireland from 1845 to 1852.

Now that you know what’s up with how we came to eat so many potatoes all around the world and their particular place in Irish history, let’s get down to whether they’re “paleo” or not.

Seems like this has been debated rather extensively and this wonderful blog post by The Food Lovers Kitchen delves into the nitty-gritty of the debate and then summarizes thusly:

We more or less have the digestive mechanisms to adequately consume and digest potatoes without detriment. That said, we need to be mindful of our selection, our preparation, and our habits in consuming potatoes. We want to buy organic potatoes that have no evident damage or green spots, peel them, and cook them. Potatoes are primarily starch - which breaks down into glucose, so we also need to be mindful of the frequency with which we consume them (ie, if you’re trying to lean out, avoid them).

If you’re with us on all that, here’s our last bit of advice: Try them out for a couple meals a week, and take note of how you feel after consuming them. Do you feel better or worse? Because of their high Glycemic Load, they will likely raise your blood sugar for a while after eating. If they “agree” with you, great – bring them back in moderation. They do break down to glucose, after all, but you also derive vitamin C, potassium, vitamin B6 and magnesium from them.

So post to comments: do you occasionally eat potatoes when you’re in need of a starchy tuber or do you stick with other ones like squash and sweet potatoes?