Should people suffering from diabetes eat potatoes?

Love potatoes, but have diabetes... Here is what you should do.

Potatoes are a controversial food for diabetics. Most believe that eating potatoes in any form boiled, baked, fried or in a vegetable preparation can make their glucose levels soar. However, this isn t completely false.

Potatoes can mess with a diabetic's meal plan. Being a nutrient dense food, high in complex carbohydrates and dietary fibre, they are high on the glycemic index. The glycemic index (GI) is an indicator of how fast the carbohydrates present in your food will raise your blood glucose levels. Foods with high GI will raise the levels quickly as compared to food with low GI value. Here is a sample diabetic meal plan for you to follow.

In the case of potatoes, all the starch and carbohydrate present in it breaks down into glucose and raises your blood sugar level after consumption. The GI of a boiled white potato is 85, which is quite high. Here are eight healthy foods that are bad for diabetics.

What you can do?

That said you don t have to say no to potatoes completely. If you are cautious about your diet and exercise regularly, then probably you can include potatoes in your meal. Remember, even if you are diabetic your body will still need carbohydrates for energy. So, first consider what your carbohydrate requirement is and how much do you need. Here are seven fruits that are good for diabetics.

If you are a diabetic your goal should be to limit your carbohydrate consumption to 45 to 65 percent of your total caloric intake, which means if your consume 2200 calories of food in a day around 1450 calories should come from carbohydrates. This indicates that if you include one small bowl (katori) of potato in one of your main meals you can still be safe. The idea is not to overdo food. Too much aloo ka sabzi can definitely wreck havoc on your glucose levels.

How to include potatoes in your diet?

There are some simple ways to include potatoes in your diet:

• Add few pieces of potatoes to your mixed vegetable preparation to gain the various benefits of this humble vegetable. Remember, apart from complex carbohydrates it also contains dietary fibre, protein and traces of other micronutrients like magnesium, phosphorus, iron and zinc.
• Limit your aloo ka sabzi to just one katori a day.
• You can add boiled potatoes, few pieces of it to your green salads too.

What should you avoid?

Potatoes, on their own, aren t harmful. But when mixed with other condiments or ingredients can be of some danger to a diabetic. Avoid these if your blood glucose levels fluctuate too much.

• French fries, the oil and salt surely aren t a good companion for you.
• Mashed potatoes from a restaurant that might have added butter or margarine.
• Excessive consumption of potatoes. Eating more than one serving of potato during your meals, irrespective of the way it is prepared can be harmful.

Here are some health benefits of potatoes.

Image source: Getty Images

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Reference:

1:Halton TL, Willett WC, Liu S, Manson JE, Stampfer MJ, Hu FB. Potato and French fry consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes in women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Feb;83(2):284-90. PubMed PMID: 16469985.