Study: Potatoes don’t increase risk of type two diabetes

By Gwyn Wright via SWNS

The humble potato does not increase the risk of type two diabetes, according to a new study that put health dangers down to what you eat with them.

Scientists have found a simple boiled spud does not raise people’s risk of ending up with the condition.

Rather it is that people who eat fries also eat lots of unhealthy food and that has led to the link.

If we simply boil them rather than choosing to have fries or mashed potatoes with lots of butter or cream, then they are far less bad for you than previously thought.

Boiled potatoes are in fact healthier than other carbohydrates such as white rice and pasta, the researchers add.

Earlier research had claimed the starchy vegetables are linked to diabetes regardless of how they are prepared, but the new findings suggest otherwise.

The new study found potatoes did not cut the risk of diabetes like other vegetables do, but they did not raise it either.

The researchers also said people who eat the most potatoes also eat a lot of other unhealthy foods such as butter, red meat and fizzy drinks.

Once these were accounted for the link between eating potatoes and diabetes disappeared.

Researcher Pratik Pokharel, who is a PhD student, explained: “In previous studies, potatoes have been positively linked to incidence of diabetes, regardless of how they’re prepared — but we found that’s not true.

“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.

“In our study, people who ate the most potatoes also consumed more butter, red meat and soft drink — foods known to increase your risk of Type two diabetes.

“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.

“Potatoes have fiber and nutrients, which are good for you.

“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 of carbohydrate.

“But just take care 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 don’t need to have it with red meat all the time.”

The researchers said eating lots of vegetables is the key to reducing the risk of diabetes.

Munching on leafy greens and cruciferous veggies such as spinach, lettuce, broccoli and cauliflower is the best way of slashing the risk.

People who eat the most vegetables are 21 percent less likely to develop diabetes than those who eat the least, the team said.

The relationship between vegetables and diabetes should be included in public health recommendations alongside the benefits of eating potatoes,nPokharel said.

He added: “The finding that vegetables lower diabetes risk is crucial for public health recommendations, and we shouldn’t ignore it.

“Regarding potatoes, we can’t say they have a benefit in terms of type two diabetes, but they also aren’t bad if prepared in a healthy way.

“We should separate potatoes and other vegetables in regard to 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.”

For the study, a team from Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia analysed the diets of 54,000 people who took part in the Danish Diet, Cancer and Health study.

The findings were published in the journal Diabetes Care.