Vindicating Taters Once Again.
The potato is today’s contemporary “kryptonite”.
We often regard it as poison to our blood sugar.
This is not accurate. This is not based on “potato physiology”.
Contrary to common belief, potatoes do not have a negative effect on blood glucose levels.
Shockingly enough, potatoes can help us lose those love handles. (Of course, can’t eat too many or pile on lots of cheese, sour cream, eat as fries, etc.)
Beans have also got a bad rap lately for “lectin” content. But, beans have sustained many cultures for many years. In fact, beans stabilize blood sugar, too.
This is research from Louisiana State University's Pennington Biomedical Research Center.
Their study showed that potatoes should be back on track for food and enjoyment:
Participants had overweight, obesity, or insulin resistance,
But when fed a diet consistently containing potatoes, their blood glucose levels were not negatively affected, and all of those involved actually lost weight.
Keep in mind:
Potatoes are inexpensive.
Potatoes do NOT increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Potatoes do not increase blood sugar or worsen insulin resistance (as long as you don’t pile on lots of stuff or consume fried)
Potatoes are packed with key nutrients that hold many health benefits.
Examples of healthy potato nutrients
Potato skins are high in healthy minerals. When I studied with Dr. Bernard Jensen years ago at his Hidden Valley Health Ranch, he would have the folks that came from all around the world to heal, sip on “potato skin broth”.
Blue/purple potatoes contain anthocyanins, which help fight cancer. If you type in anthocyanins and cancer in pubmed.gov presently there are 1,110 references about this!
Here is a screenshot of pubmed.gov.
Abstract from Louisiana State Study
(In this study, those with insulin resistance gained better glucose control and lost more weight when potatoes -and beans- were added to their diet)
This study evaluated the effect of diets low in energy density and high in either potatoes (Potato) or pulses (Bean) on blood glucose control in participants who already suffered with insulin resistance.
We hypothesized that the Potato and Bean diets would have equivalent effects.
This was an 8-week randomized, parallel design, controlled feeding study comparing Potato and Bean diets (50-55% carbohydrate, 30-35% fat, 15-20% protein).
Equivalence was pre-specified as the mean change in the blood glucose concentration for Potato that was within ±20% of the Bean diet.
Thirty-six participants (age: 18-60 years, body mass index: 25-40 kg/m2) with insulin resistance (homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance [HOMA-IR] >2) were enrolled.
Both tater and bean rich diets lowered insulin levels compared with baseline.
Compliance with was great - up to 87-88%. As this diet tasted good!
Body weight was reduced in both diets (Potato: -5.6% ± 0.6%; Bean: -4.1% ± 0.6%, P < .001) with no significant difference between the two diets.
Potato and Bean diets were equally effective in reducing insulin resistance and promoting weight loss in individuals with impaired blood glucose control.
Moral of the tater tale:
Potatoes are healthy foods. Even for blood sugar. And weight loss.
Also, once “cooled”, consuming potatoes helps boost butyrate production, which helps with weight loss, immune support and much more.
Don’t mostly think “trendy thoughts” about food.
Follow food science.
We need some carbs to “feed” our gut wall cells (enterocytes).
Long-term avoidance of carbs is not good for the gut. It’s fine for short-term weight loss and to accomplish other health goals.
Keep moderation and balance in mind.
Sanity is always a good focus. Not so easy these days.
Thus, I keep writing.
Dr. B.
References:
Low-Energy Dense Potato- and Bean-Based Diets Reduce Body Weight and Insulin Resistance: A Randomized, Feeding, Equivalence Trial," published in the Journal of Medicinal Food on November 11, 2022. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
Eating Potatoes Is Healthy - Medscape - Feb 01, 2023.
It looks like only 36 people were studied and all of them were overweight to start. It would be interesting to see a similar study on normal weight people.