How Do Potatoes Affect Blood Sugar Levels
Like any other carb-containing food, potatoes increase blood sugar levels.
When you eat them, your body breaks down the carbs into simple sugars that move into your bloodstream. This is whats often called a spike in blood sugar levels .
The hormone insulin is then released into your blood to help transport the sugars into your cells so that they can be used for energy .
In people with diabetes, this process is not as effective. Instead of sugar moving out of the blood and into your cells, it remains in circulation, keeping blood sugar levels higher for longer.
Therefore, eating high-carb foods and/or large portions can be detrimental to people with diabetes.
In fact, poorly managed diabetes is linked to heart failure, stroke, kidney disease, nerve damage, amputation, and vision loss (
- High GL: Desiree , french fries
- Medium GL: white, Russet Burbank, Pontiac, Desiree , Charlotte, potato crisps, instant mashed potato
- Low GL: Carisma, Nicola
If you have diabetes, choosing varieties like Carisma and Nicola is a better option to slow the rise of blood sugar levels after eating potatoes.
You can check the GI and GL of different types of potatoes through this website.
Carbohydrates And Mashed Potatoes
Diabetes occurs when your body cannot effectively control your blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates affect blood sugar, so the American Diabetes Association’s meal plan recommends that people with diabetes limit their carbohydrate intake to 45 percent of their total calories, or 45 to 60 grams of carbohydrates per meal. Fruit, vegetables, grains, breads and added sugar all contribute to the carbohydrate total of your meal. One cup of mashed potatoes prepared with whole milk provides 174 calories and 37 grams of carbohydrates, between 62 and 82 percent of the total carbohydrates recommended for an entire meal.
Can Diabetics Eat Fried Potatoes
friedpotatoesdiabetes can eat potatoes
. Just so, can diabetics eat potatoes?
Although potatoes are a starchy vegetable, a person with diabetes can still enjoy them as part of a healthful diet. For this reason, it essential that people with diabetes monitor their carbohydrate intake. Potatoes are a starchy vegetable. They contain carbohydrates which will increase a person’s blood sugar levels.
Additionally, are potatoes bad for type 2 diabetes? Indulge Your Potato Craving With Fiber-Rich Sweet PotatoesWhen it comes to foods for type 2 diabetes, not all potatoes are created equal. When boiled, they are a low glycemic index food, meaning they won’t spike your blood sugar as much as regular potatoes.
Beside above, do Potatoes raise blood sugar?
Potatoes are a starchy vegetable, which means that they are rich in carbohydrate and can raise a person’s blood sugar levels. Eating too many potatoes can present problems for blood sugar control in people with diabetes. Eating non-starchy foods alongside moderate portions of whole potatoes can balance out their GI.
Can diabetics eat nuts?
The Best Nuts for Diabetes: Walnuts, Almonds, and More. Nuts can be a good snack for people with type 2 diabetes because they may help prevent heart disease, keep blood sugar controlled, and even aid weight loss. When you’re looking for a satisfying diabetes-friendly snack, it’s hard to beat nuts.
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Diabetes: Watching Your Carbs
If you have diabetes, carbohydrates can be the most confusing part of your menu. Carbs raise your blood sugar, but they also provide much-needed energy. Eating too many carbs can make you gain weight, but skimping on them means you miss out on the fiber and nutrients found in many carbohydrate-rich foods.
To make things even more complicated, some carbohydrates raise blood sugar faster and higher than others. Fortunately, you don’t need a degree in nutrition to manage all this. By keeping a few simple things in mind, you can enjoy the benefits of carbs without losing control of your diabetes.
The first thing to know is that you need plenty of carbohydrates every day. So-called “low-carb” diets won’t give you the energy and nutrition you need to feel your best. The American Diabetes Association and other groups recommend getting 45 percent to 65 percent of all calories from carbohydrates. If you’re counting carb grams, you should shoot for about 45 to 60 grams of carbohydrates at every meal if you’re a woman, 60 to 75 if you’re a man.
How does that translate on the plate? You could get 60 grams from a single large baked potato. For a little more variety, 1/3 of a cup of pasta, a small piece of fruit, two small cookies, and a slice of bread also add up to 60 grams of carbs.
References
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How To Include Potatoes Into A Diabetes
Just like everything in life, moderation is key when it comes to consuming potatoes. According to the present data, enjoying potatoes as a part of a balanced meal that contains other nutrients like protein, healthy fats, and fiber can be a safe and enjoyable way to enjoy them.
Potatoes in all forms, including frozen, fresh, and dehydrated, and prepared by mashing, baking or other ways, fit within a healthy diet, Brown-Riggs adds.
Nobody will suggest that you consider only a potato and a half as a meal, especially if you are managing diabetes. Similarly, eating only rice, bread, corn, or any other single-food as a meal is not the best choice.
Just as the current study suggests, if a serving of potato is being eaten along with a protein source and some vegetables, the blood sugar increase should not be alarming. Eating the skin of the potato and choosing healthier methods of preparationthink baking instead of fryingare healthier choices. And swapping out potato toppings that tend to be higher in saturated fat like bacon and sour cream for more nutritious choices like plain Greek yogurt and steamed broccoli can help align your potato with your healthful lifestyle.
Why We Cant Just Rely On Glycemic Index Scores
Some evidence-based guidelines recommend consuming low glycemic index foods in place of high glycemic foods to manage glycemic control. However, a solution for ideal blood glucose control is much more complex than simply avoiding potatoes and eating whole grain bread.
A glycemic index score is determined by how quickly blood sugars are elevated when 50 grams of carbohydrate of a food is eaten. The score ranges from 0 to 100, with 100 being a score associated with food that will increase blood sugars extremely quickly. Foods that are lower on the scale are often higher in fiber, protein, and/or fat and digest more slowly.
However, while the glycemic index can be a useful tool, it cannot be used as the be-all and end-all guide for those attempting to manage their diabetes.
First, a food’s glycemic index ranking only pertains to when that food is eaten on an empty stomach. Most people dont eat foods like honey and pasta noodles without accompanying them with other food. You dont often find people eating honey right off of a spoon as a meal or pasta being eaten sauce-less.
The second challenge of relying on the glycemic index score is based on the way the score is determined. It relies on 50 grams of carbohydrates to be consumed from a given food item , which is a lot.
For context, one medium potato contains 37 grams of carbohydrate and just under 5 grams of fiber, so the glycemic index score is based on the effects a potato can have on blood sugars when:
Read Also: Glycemic Excursions
When To See A Dietitian For Advice
People with diabetes need to monitor how their diet and insulin medication affect their blood glucose levels. It is advisable to discuss any new changes to the diet with a dietitian.
These professionals can help someone plan their meals to make sure that they get sufficient essential nutrients while also balancing their blood sugar.
If a person finds it difficult to speak to a dietitian, they can talk to their doctor, who can provide dietary recommendations.
Are Potatoes Good For Diabetes
Potatoes are known to have very high Glycemic Index value. Due to this reason, diabetics are very cautious when adding potatoes to their diet. Diabetics always need to consider GI value before choosing any food as it measures the impact of it on their blood glucose levels. Eating most of the foods with high level of GI gives huge spike in blood sugar which would cause significant rise in insulin levels and it takes several hours to bring back the blood sugar levels to normal.
Since diabetics have improper insulin level, if blood sugar levels remain high for extended period of time, it causes some of the common symptoms of diabetes, including constant urination unusual thirst, nerve problems, and fatigue.
Potatoes have GI ranging from 65 to 80 which is abnormally high. Sucrose or table sugar has GI of 63, whole-meal bread has 60, white bread has 71, and brown rice has 55.
The best thing is that cooking method and type of potato you consume affect the GI level of potatoes. As compared to older potatoes, newer versions have lower GI. Some of the waxy potatoes like Yellow Finn, Red Norland, and Red Pontiac come with lower GI values as compared to floury potatoes like Norgold Russet and Russet Burbank.
How to Consume Potatoes?
Luckily, most of the leading fast food chains and reputed restaurants are switching to Trans-fat free oils for frying. So, it is better to stick to thick cut wedges or fries if you eat fries as these have lower oil to potato ratio.
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What Grains And Starches Are Recommended For A Type 1 Diabetes Diet Plan
Grains and starchy vegetables
Whole grains, such as brown rice, quinoa, and oatmeal are good sources of fiber and nutrients and have a low glycemic load. This makes them good choices. Processed food labels make it very confusing to understand whole grains. For example “whole wheat bread” is made in many different ways and some of it is not really that different from white bread in its blood sugar impact . The same is true for whole grain pasta – it’s still pasta. Whole grains will require less insulin because of their low glycemic load. The best way to understand them is to check the nutrition label. Find the grams of dietary fiber and subtract that from the total carbohydrate. That number should be less than 25 per serving. Starchy vegetables such as potatoes, squash, corn, and other root vegetables are higher in carbohydrates than green vegetables but lower than refined grains. They also are good sources of nutrients such as vitamin C. They are best eaten in smaller portions with an additional dose of insulin to cover 1 serving of carbohydrate.
Non-starchy vegetables
Avoid Fried Potatoes And Large Baked Potatoes
Some potatoes, like fried potatoes, will affect your blood sugar quite quickly, and you need to avoid those FOR SURE!
Eating fried foods will increase your risk of Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, Heart Disease and Stroke.
Fried foods are totally bad for you and you need to STOP eating them right away.
To learn more about what you should and should not eat, check out our 95-5 Wellness Solution.
There’s lots of help with healthy food choices and a big list of what you need to avoid if you want to reverse your Prediabetes and Insulin Resistance.
So, back to potatoes!
Other types of potatoes MIGHT affect your blood sugar beyond healthy levels. The potatoes that are most likely to do this are Russet potatoes.
Russet potatoes are the kind you would normally bake.
Farmer’s grow Russet potatoes to be HIGH in starch and in LOW in fiber.
Why? Because baked Russet potatoes taste SOOOOOO creamy because of the high starch and low fiber… and people like this…but your blood sugar sure as heck doesn’t.
Take a pass with Russet potatoes. DO NOT EAT russet potatoes!
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Let’s Get Started With What Type 2 Diabetes Is
First, its helpful to have a little background information about what exactly a type 2 diabetes diagnosis means. When you eat, your body turns food into glucose, which the hormone insulin then shuttles to other parts of your body that need to use it as fuel. In a person with type 2 diabetes, the cells in your muscles, fat and liver dont respond to insulin properly so an excess of glucose remains in your bloodstream, which can have dangerous consequences if left untreated.
Why Does Diet Matter For Type 2 Diabetes
You can make some adjustments to the way you eat to help prevent blood sugar spikes. Diabetes can be much better controlled when an individual makes food choices that are going to help them manage their blood sugar levels and keep their levels within ranges that will keep them safe, says Colleen Johnson, M.S., R.D.N., adult diabetes educator at Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston. Diabetes can be treated with many kinds of medications and different types of insulin, but the diet is really going to be key no matter what type of treatment they undergo.
The main focus of an eating plan for type 2 diabetes typically revolves around reducing your intake of carbohydrates because they are most easily converted into glucose and research shows they make up a large portion of the typical American diet. When it comes to carbohydrates, what I like to remind people is that they are team players, says Samantha Cassetty, R.D.N., nutrition and wellness expert and the author of Sugar Shock. I think the biggest problem that I see is carbs on carbs on carbs. So, oatmeal with fruit with milk those are all examples of foods that contain carbohydrates. Even our wholesome, fiber-rich carbs like fruits and vegetables really ideally operate best when they’re paired with a teammate. She says not only does it allow you to get a variety of nutrients from different types of foods, it helps balance your blood sugar and enables you stay to fuller longer.
1. Leafy greens
2. Salmon
3. Quinoa
5. Nuts
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Prediabetes And Potatoes & Blood Sugar Control
A lot of ladies tell me potatoes spike their blood sugar.
Ok, first you need to make sure you are testing your blood sugar with the APPROVED after-meal blood sugar recommendation which is:
Under 140 mg/dL or 7.8 mmol/l: 2 hours after you start eating.
You can learn more about testing your blood sugar here.
So… once you’re good to go with testing your blood sugar at home, here are some tips for eating potatoes and getting a really nice AND heathy blood sugar readings after your meals.
Risks Of Eating Potatoes
Although its safe for most people with diabetes to eat potatoes, its important to consider the amount and types you consume.
Eating potatoes both increases your risk of type 2 diabetes and may have negative effects on people with existing diabetes.
One study in 70,773 people found that for every 3 servings per week of boiled, mashed, or baked potatoes, there was a 4% increase in the risk of type 2 diabetes and for french fries, the risk increased to 19% .
Additionally, fried potatoes and potato chips contain high amounts of unhealthy fats that may increase blood pressure, lower HDL cholesterol, and lead to weight gain and obesity all of which are associated with heart disease (
31 ).
People with type 2 diabetes are often encouraged to maintain a healthy weight or lose weight to help manage blood sugar and reduce the risk of complications .
Therefore, french fries, potato chips, and other potato dishes that use large amounts of fats are best avoided.
If youre having trouble managing your blood sugar levels and diet, speak with a healthcare provider, dietitian, or diabetes educator.
summary
Eating unhealthy potato foods, such as chips and french fries, increases your risk of type 2 diabetes and complications, such as heart disease and obesity.
Although you can eat potatoes if you have diabetes, you may still want to limit them or replace them with healthier options.
Look for high fiber, lower carb, and low GI and GL foods like the following :
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Choose Your Carbs Carefully
Be careful about the kinds of carbohydrates you eat and spread them evenly throughout the day. Remember, it is important to control your portions and not overeat!
Healthier choices:
Whole grains , beans, lentils, fruits, and non-starchy vegetables .
Minimize intake of:
White bread, white rice, pasta, pastries, potatoes, sugared soda, highly processed foods . Remember, the more processed a food is, the less fiber, vitamins, and minerals it has leaving behind mostly starch.
Avoid:
Pastries, sugared soda, highly processed foods ! These foods are mostly empty calories with no nutritional value which can add extra calories to your diet.