Q: What kind role do potatoes play if someone wants to reduce weight? Is it healthy to eat potatoes? What nutrients do they provide? Is it fine to take a little bit of ghee for losing weight? My father-in-law has a heart problem, which suggests that my husband can also inherit this from him. Is it safe for him to eat potatoes with ghee? I am in favour of taking them, what do you suggest? What precautions does he have to take? I think that if someone doesn't exercise or walk, then taking non fried foods and not taking potatoes and ghee will help them. Please advise.

A:It was earlier thought that the key to weight loss was eliminating all high carbohydrate foods, including pasta, rice and potatoes. We now know that carbohydrates are the body’s preferred energy source. Eating a potato, or any type of carbohydrate rich food, won't automatically make you fatter. However, if you are watching your weight, enjoy potatoes in moderate quantities and be careful of how you eat your potato (for example, fried, or as chips or wafers). Fats contain approximately double the amount of calories per gram than carbohydrates or protein. They are a very concentrated form of energy. If you eat a lot of fat, you are more likely to put on weight than if you eat a lot of carbohydrate.