Potatoes Are a Healthy Veggie Too

The humble potato is often disregarded in favor of other vegetables due to the recent popularity of low- or no-carbohydrate diets. Recent study literature has suggested potatoes may harm health, possibly raising the risk of type 2 diabetes.

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Are Potatoes Bad for Health

While potatoes may not have all the health benefits of some other vegetables, such as lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes, new Edith Cowan University (ECU) research has revealed that health problems related to potatoes may be caused by how people are preparing them and what they are eating them with.

For the extensive Danish Diet, Cancer, and Health study, more than 54,000 participants provided information about their dietary intake.

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Benefits of Eating Vegetables

People who eat the most vegetables have a 21% lower risk of type 2 diabetes than people who consume the least, according to a recent analysis of this study headed by Dr. Nicola Bondonno of ECU's Nutrition and Health Innovation Research Institute.

While potatoes did not have the same influence on type 2 diabetes as other foods, they also did not have any adverse effects, according to PhD candidate Pratik Pokharel, who worked on the analysis.

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Potatoes and Type 2 Diabetes

“In previous studies, potatoes have been positively linked to the incidence of diabetes, regardless of how they are prepared- but we found that’s not true,” Mr Pokharel said. “In Denmark, people consume potatoes prepared in many different ways; in our study, we could distinguish between the different preparation methods. When we separated boiled potatoes from mashed potatoes, fries or crisps, boiled potatoes were no longer associated with a higher risk of diabetes: they had a null effect.”

The secret, according to Mr. Pokharel, was underlying food patterns. “In our study, people who ate the most potatoes also consumed more butter, red meat and soft drink- foods are known to increase your risk of Type 2 diabetes,” he said. “When you account for that, boiled potatoes are no longer associated with diabetes. It’s only fries and mashed potatoes, the latter likely because it is usually made with butter, cream and the like.”

Eat Your Vegetables

According to Mr. Pokharel, the study's findings show that vegetables, particularly leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables like spinach, lettuce, broccoli, and cauliflower, may be important in reducing the incidence of type 2 diabetes.

He said that both the advantages of eating potatoes and the connection between veggies and diabetes should be included in dietary recommendations for the general public.

“The finding that vegetables lower diabetes risk is crucial for public health recommendations, and we shouldn’t ignore it,” he said. “Regarding potatoes, we can’t say they have a benefit in terms of type 2 diabetes, but they also are not bad if prepared healthily. We should separate potatoes and other vegetables with messaging about disease prevention but replacing refined grains such as white rice and pasta with potatoes can improve your diet quality because of fibre and other nutrients found in potatoes.”

People should be encouraged to eat more vegetables, according to Mr. Pokharel, and potatoes could be included as long as unhealthy additives like butter, cream, and oil are avoided.

Are Carbohydrates Bad for Health

“Potatoes have fibre and nutrients, which are good for you,” he said. People talk about carbs being bad, but it’s more about the type of carbs you’re having; compared to something like white rice, boiled potatoes are a good quality carbohydrate. But just take care of how you prepare them: don’t eat fries or mash with extras in it all the time. Just boil them and eat them like other greens or other foods- and you do not need to have it with red meat all the time.”

Source-Medindia