Why potatoes have such a bad image is wrong

Potatoes are in the same damn low-carb corner as pasta and rice, but that’s not true: They’re actually a vegetable with all kinds of healthy nutrients.

Previous research has sometimes pointed to the starch in potatoes that may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. Potatoes also contain more calories than “regular” vegetables. This is why people who like to eat fewer carbs for their health or to lose weight often leave potatoes out as well.

healthy
But now a new study shows that those good old-fashioned patches have all kinds of health benefits. It mainly depends on how people prepare the fries and what they eat on the side.

Researcher Nicola Bondonno from Edith Cowan University (ECU) After analyzing data from 54,000 people, who recorded their diet as part of a Danish longitudinal score Diet, cancer and health study. This showed, among other things, that the group that ate the most vegetables was 21 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than the group that ate the least vegetables. And it turns out that potatoes have no negative effect at all.

cooking method
Co-researcher Prateek Pokharel explains: “In previous studies, potatoes have always been associated with an increased risk of diabetes, regardless of how they are prepared. We discovered that this is not true.”

Because Danes prepare potatoes in many different ways, the researchers were able to distinguish between groups with different cooking methods. “If we separate boiled potatoes from mashed potatoes or fried potatoes, there is no longer an increased risk of developing diabetes,” says the researcher, who explains that it is related to the basic diet.

More meat and soda
“People who ate potatoes in large quantities also consumed butter, red meat, and soft drinks. Foods we know increase the risk of developing diabetes,” Bukharel explains. If we take this into account, there is no longer any association between boiled potatoes and diabetes. Only fried potatoes and mashed potatoes. increases the chance of that. The last reason for this is probably mainly because they are prepared with butter or cream.”

Bukharel believes that vegetables may play a key role in reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes, because people who ate a lot of leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables, such as spinach, lettuce, broccoli and cauliflower, were less likely to develop the disease.

Better than rice or pasta
He believes the link between vegetables and diabetes should be included in dietary guidelines, just as the health benefits of potatoes should be. “The fact that vegetables reduce the risk of diabetes is critical to public health recommendations and we should not ignore this,” he says.

“With regard to potatoes, we cannot say that they have a beneficial effect on the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, but they are not bad for you either, if they are prepared properly. It is better to replace white rice and pasta with potatoes because of the fiber and other nutrients they contain. ” .

More vegetables, including potatoes
The researcher believes that people should be advised to eat more vegetables, which include potatoes, provided that unhealthy additives such as butter, cream and oil are avoided. “Potatoes contain fiber and other nutrients that are good for you,” says Bukharel.

“People always talk about unhealthy carbs, but it’s more about the type of carbs you eat: Compared to white rice, for example, boiled potatoes are good carbs.” But as said: don’t make potatoes with it, let alone add mayonnaise, or fry it in butter. “Just cook it and eat it like you would any other vegetable. And you don’t always have to eat red meat with it,” it seems.