The potato may not be so bad for our health after all—it’s the way you prepare it.
Despite the rise of low-carb diets, potatoes have a neutral effect on our health, just as long as you boil them. They start raising our blood-sugar (glucose) levels only when we have fried potatoes.
But then, the potato isn’t particularly healthy either, certainly not compared to green vegetables. They don’t reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, but they don’t increase the risk either, say researchers from Edith Cowan University in Australia.
Eating a lot of potatoes can introduce less healthy habits, say the researchers who analysed the diets of more than 54,000 people who are taking part in the Danish Diet, Cancer and Health study. Potato-eaters were also eating more butter, red meat and soft drinks, and these can have a direct impact on developing type 2 diabetes, the researchers say.
But the real take-home from the study is that people should be eating more leafy green and cruciferous vegetables, such as spinach, kale and broccoli. And if you must eat potatoes, make sure they’re boiled.
Diabetes Care, 2022; doi: `0.2337/dc22-0974
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