by Longing for fries? Your spuds in a deep fryer cover can be a recipe to increase your risk of type 2 diabetes.
According to a study published in the magazine BMJ on Wednesday, changing your weekly dose of fries for cooked, baked or mashed potatoes can lower your risk of this chronic condition.
The authors investigated the diets of more than 205,000 adults in the US who responded to questionnaires about what they ate almost four decades. Among those who consumed potatoes, the authors to whom people developed type 2, a disease that leads to continuous high blood sugar levels.
Eating three weekly portions of fries, they found, were associated with an increased risk of 20% on type 2 diabetes. But consuming the same amount of cooked, baked or potato puree did not seem to be linked to the disease.
The vast majority of 1 in 10 people with diabetes in the US has type 2. The condition can increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes or kidney damage.
The findings underline that the way in which foods are prepared is the key to their general health risks or benefits, said Seyed Mohammad Mousavi, main author of the study and a post -doctoral researcher at Harvard Th Chan School of Public Health.
“Not all potatoes were made equal,” he said. “Even a small amount of fries, less than one that serves a week, is associated with a higher risk of type 2. diabetes
In contrast to boiled or fried potatoes, fries are fried in oils that usually contain trans- or saturated fats. The way in which the body that metabolizes fats can contribute to insulin resistance – when cells do not respond well to insulin, a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar levels. Regular consumption of fried food can also lead to obesity and inflammation, both of which increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.
“When you’re the potatoes, the energy content – calories – increases because of the fat they absorb. If you eat many portions of fries, susceptible [people] To weight gain, “said Candida Rebello, the director of the Nutrition and Chronic Disease Program at Louisiana State University, who was not involved in the study.
The study was based on data collected between 1984 and 2021, when various frying methods were popular. Most fast food chains nowadays prepare fries with the help of vegetable oils such as canola, sunflower, soy or peanut oil. But in the 1980s beef was usual. And in the early nineties, restaurants shifted to partially hydrogenated oils. (The oils were an important source of trans fat in the American diet and in 2018 were largely reduced from the food industry.)
Health and Human Services -Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said that the seed oil used today are Americans ‘poisoning’ and contribute to high levels of obesity in children. He has argued for restaurants to switch back to Beef Tallow, a recommendation that is not supported by scientific research.
“Beef sequence contains many saturated fats and other harmful fats. We certainly don’t recommend that,” said Mousavi.
A limitation of the Mousavi study is that it did not take into account people who add unhealthy ingredients to their cooked, baked or mashed potatoes.
“What do people add to fried potatoes? Butter, bacon, cheese, sour cream,” said Shannon Galyean, a university teacher of food sciences at Texas Tech University, who was not part of the research. “Then we don’t know either, did they eat it with the skins?”
Calyean said that potato peels contain nutrients such as fiber, which helps with blood sugar control. And potatoes, when they are not fried or lubricated in butter, can be a useful source of potassium that helps regulate blood pressure.
“Absolutely, potatoes can be considered a healthy food if you don’t bake it, or if you don’t add a lot of fat to it,” said Galyean.
Mousavi said that baking fries at home with a healthier oil, such as olive or avocado oil, could help to lower someone’s diabetes risk compared to eating them from fast food restaurants. Changing potatoes with full grains, such as Farro or whole -grain bread or pasta, can make an even bigger difference. These foods have a lower glycemic index, which means that they have less chance of blood sugar levels.
His studies showed that full grains, compared to all types of potatoes, had less chance of increasing someone’s diabetes risk. White rice, on the other hand, had a stronger association with type 2 diabetes than one of these foods.
Megan Mulcahy, the Director of Communication at Potatoes USA, a marketing and research organization that supports potato consumption, said that fries can “absolutely be part of a healthy eating pattern when they enjoy in moderation”.
Calyean said it is important to consider the general diet of a person, which has a greater impact on his health than any individual food. Nutritionists generally recommend a colorful plate with a variety of fruit, vegetables, full grains and healthy proteins such as fish, beans or nuts.
“People don’t eat but one thing, they eat meals,” said Glyean.
This article was originally published on nbcnews.com
