You would be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t love French fries, but a new scientific study has found that going over a certain number of portions per week has a dramatic effect on your chances of contracting type 2 diabetes. The study, published by the BMJ, noted that while potato’s contain important nutrients such as fiber, vitamin C, and magnesium, the way in which they are prepared for eating can have significant effects on healthiness.
To figure out what happens when eating French fries, experts compared them with other potato options such as boiled, baked, and mashed. They also sought to find out if the healthier preparations stack up against other carbohydrates sources such as whole grains or white rice.
How Was the Study Carried Out?
Researchers crunched the data of more than 205,000 health professionals who were free from ailments such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes as a baseline. They then followed up with these individuals for almost 40 years between 1984 and 2021, to find out what kind of potato the participants had eaten along with how many portions, and how this may have affected their health.
What Were the Results?
Letting the chips fall where they may, the scientists found that three-weekly servings of French fries increased the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 20%. The risks associated with eating other types of potato offered a less significant risk however, and the scientists also found that our health could be impacted by what we replace potatoes with. “Substituting baked, boiled, or mashed potatoes with whole grains was estimated to lower (type2 diabetes) incidence by 4%,” read the report. “Whereas replacing French fries lowered the rate by 19%.”
Potatoes still have a sensible place in our diet, continued the study. “In contrast, replacing total and combined baked, boiled, or mashed potatoes with white rice was associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes,” read the data. So, while whole grains appeared to be the safest form of energy, at least as far as the risks of diabetes are concerned, potatoes lovers can take heart in the fact that they posed a lesser threat than from white rice.
“Our findings underscore that the association between potato intake and type 2 diabetes risk depends on the specific foods used as replacement,” concluded the study. “The findings also align with current dietary recommendations that promote the inclusion of whole grains as part of a healthy diet for the prevention of type 2 diabetes.”
The take home message? It’s all about portion size and frequency. French fries can be an indulgent treat but should perhaps be limited to one portion per week, since three portions increase your risk of contracting type 2 diabetes by 20%. And, when it comes to other forms of energy, such as more healthily prepared potatoes or white rice, be sure to keep your energy input balanced with your calorific output, since gaining weight is often the trigger for type 2 diabetes.
