Potatoes and diabetes risk

Potato-based dishes, such as French fries, are commonly enjoyed by most people around the world. For example, the French consume an average of 18 kg of French fries per year per capita, the equivalent of 500 grams per week. A recent study examined the link between potato consumption and type 2 diabetes in the United States.

Potatoes are the 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐝 harvested food and the main non-cereal food. This food is rich in fiber, vitamin C, potassium, polyphenols, and magnesium. However, the 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 of potatoes causes a 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐠𝐥𝐲𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐱 and could be harmful to health in cases of high consumption. A North American study investigated the link between consumption of potato products and the 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝟐 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐬 in three cohorts.

During this study, dietary data from 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟓,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 was collected and followed up for more than 10 years. After analyzing the adjusted data, the authors concluded that high consumption of potato products and French fries was associated with a 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝟐 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐬. For example, consuming 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 per week increased this risk 𝐛𝐲 𝟐𝟎%.

The study also indicated that replacing potatoes with 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐯𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬 reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes 𝐛𝐲 𝟖%, while replacing them with white rice increased the risk.