Study: High-Carb Potato Consumption Leads To Greater Risk For Diabetes
This MSNBC story outlines a new study that should make you very proud of yourself if you are one of the intelligent people who has decided to start livin' la vida low-carb.
Researchers at the prestigious Harvard Medical School led by Thomas L. Halton released a 20-year study of about 85,000 American women ages 34-59 with no history of chronic disease which found that higher consumption of potatoes increased their risk of developing Type II diabetes. By the end of the study, there were close to 4,500 new cases of Type II diabetes among the study participants.
Of even greater concern to the researchers was the fact that obese women, who are already putting themselves at a greater risk for developing diabetes because of their weight, may be especially adversely affected by eating large amounts of high-carb potatoes.
The results of this eye-opening study were published in the February 2006 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
For far too long society has tried to convince us that potatoes are healthy by dressing them up as goofy cartoon characters and even through a freak of science trying to make them low-carb. But the fact remains that potatoes are decidely UNHEALTHY for you because of the excessive carbohydrates that are contained in them and what that does to your body.
Eating a potato is tantamount to eating a big piece of chocolate cake! They both cause a rise in your blood sugar followed by the quick drop which necessitates eating more and more carbohydrates to start the ruthless cycle all over again. I got off that rollercoaster ride forever when I started my low-carb lifetyle and I don't miss it one bit. Stabilizing your blood sugar and keeping it under control is one sure-fire way of preventing diabetes from becoming a part of your life.
But, potatoes are relatively cheap and people sometimes buy whatever they can because it saves them money. Yet one of the lessons I have learned from my 180+ pound weight loss experience is that people must make better choices for themselves about the kind of foods they put in their mouth. Sure potatoes are inexpensive compared with certainly healthier choices, but what price can you put on your long-term health?
If avoiding potatoes can keep obesity, diabetes, and other such diseases from being a part of my life, then by golly that's what I'm gonna do for myself. The fact is we do not NEED potatoes in our diet and the world would be a lot healthier place if people would stop consuming them forever (but with alternative products like this, who needs potatoes?!). Of course, this will never happen in my lifetime, but it would make a noticeable difference if it did.
The study found that the high glycemic index of potatoes caused huge spikes in the participants' blood sugar which caused damage to the pancreatic cells that produce insulin, the key ingredient in metabolizing blood sugar. Additionally, the researchers explained that those who are carrying around excess weight and do not excercise are already prone to being insulin resistant where body cells lose their sensitivity to insulin and eventually leads to diabetes.
Dr. Halton states that potatoes hurry up this process and leads to a more rapid onset of diabetes. Therefore, it is a good suggestion for the obese to stop eating potato-based products such as French fries, potato chips, etc. to improve their chances of warding off diabetes, the researchers recommended.
The risk chance for diabetes increased 14 percent for those study participants who ate the most potatoes and rose by 21 percent for those who chose to eat French fries as part of their diet.
Interestingly, the researchers noted that the women in their study generally ate potatoes and white flour products in lieu of whole grain foods such as high-fiber vegetables, fruits and beans. Halton concluded that the diabetes risk would most likely be modestly cut if they just started eating whole grains instead.
I have talked about this before and I'll keep saying it. People in general and especially Americans eat way too much sugar, white flour, starchy foods and processed foods. We don't need this JUNK in our diets people. I know it feels good and is dirt cheap to eat this way, but look at what you are doing to your health. If we want the children of today to live a long and healthy life themselves, then WE need to be the examples for them to lead the way on eating healthy and living right.
This madness of continually telling the same lie over and over again expecting a different result is insane! But that's exactly what the health care industry, government leaders, and the self-appointed "experts" along with their willing accomplices in the press have been doing since the early 1970s with the promulgation of the low-fat diet. As I have stated before, I don't care if somebody chooses to go on the low-fat diet if that's what works for them.
But we need alternatives to be promoted with as much gusto and fanfare as low-fat has been. That includes low-carb! The stigma that has been placed on livin' la vida low-carb is unprecedented in the history of mankind. What are these people so afraid of about the low-carb lifestyle? If it gives hope for even ONE person out there that they can find a permanent way to lose weight and keep it off forever, then isn't it worth getting the word out about what it is, too?
As someone who weighed 410 pounds once and knows the pain of feeling hopeless regarding weight loss, the answer to that question is YES YES YES! It is so worth it! Don't ever let anyone tell you that you shouldn't try the low-carb life if everything else you've tried has let you down. You just start low-carbin' it for yourself and watch the unbelievable results begin happening for you, too! And don't you dare ever look back or start listening to the naysayers who will only try to drag you down.
This is your day. NOW is the time. There's nothing that is gonna hold you back from becoming the thin person that you so deeply desire to be. Throw away the excuses and JUST DO IT! Make today the first day of the rest of your long and healthy life. Because today you are gonna start livin' la vida low-carb. GO FOR IT!
Researchers at the prestigious Harvard Medical School led by Thomas L. Halton released a 20-year study of about 85,000 American women ages 34-59 with no history of chronic disease which found that higher consumption of potatoes increased their risk of developing Type II diabetes. By the end of the study, there were close to 4,500 new cases of Type II diabetes among the study participants.
Of even greater concern to the researchers was the fact that obese women, who are already putting themselves at a greater risk for developing diabetes because of their weight, may be especially adversely affected by eating large amounts of high-carb potatoes.
The results of this eye-opening study were published in the February 2006 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
For far too long society has tried to convince us that potatoes are healthy by dressing them up as goofy cartoon characters and even through a freak of science trying to make them low-carb. But the fact remains that potatoes are decidely UNHEALTHY for you because of the excessive carbohydrates that are contained in them and what that does to your body.
Eating a potato is tantamount to eating a big piece of chocolate cake! They both cause a rise in your blood sugar followed by the quick drop which necessitates eating more and more carbohydrates to start the ruthless cycle all over again. I got off that rollercoaster ride forever when I started my low-carb lifetyle and I don't miss it one bit. Stabilizing your blood sugar and keeping it under control is one sure-fire way of preventing diabetes from becoming a part of your life.
But, potatoes are relatively cheap and people sometimes buy whatever they can because it saves them money. Yet one of the lessons I have learned from my 180+ pound weight loss experience is that people must make better choices for themselves about the kind of foods they put in their mouth. Sure potatoes are inexpensive compared with certainly healthier choices, but what price can you put on your long-term health?
If avoiding potatoes can keep obesity, diabetes, and other such diseases from being a part of my life, then by golly that's what I'm gonna do for myself. The fact is we do not NEED potatoes in our diet and the world would be a lot healthier place if people would stop consuming them forever (but with alternative products like this, who needs potatoes?!). Of course, this will never happen in my lifetime, but it would make a noticeable difference if it did.
The study found that the high glycemic index of potatoes caused huge spikes in the participants' blood sugar which caused damage to the pancreatic cells that produce insulin, the key ingredient in metabolizing blood sugar. Additionally, the researchers explained that those who are carrying around excess weight and do not excercise are already prone to being insulin resistant where body cells lose their sensitivity to insulin and eventually leads to diabetes.
Dr. Halton states that potatoes hurry up this process and leads to a more rapid onset of diabetes. Therefore, it is a good suggestion for the obese to stop eating potato-based products such as French fries, potato chips, etc. to improve their chances of warding off diabetes, the researchers recommended.
The risk chance for diabetes increased 14 percent for those study participants who ate the most potatoes and rose by 21 percent for those who chose to eat French fries as part of their diet.
Interestingly, the researchers noted that the women in their study generally ate potatoes and white flour products in lieu of whole grain foods such as high-fiber vegetables, fruits and beans. Halton concluded that the diabetes risk would most likely be modestly cut if they just started eating whole grains instead.
I have talked about this before and I'll keep saying it. People in general and especially Americans eat way too much sugar, white flour, starchy foods and processed foods. We don't need this JUNK in our diets people. I know it feels good and is dirt cheap to eat this way, but look at what you are doing to your health. If we want the children of today to live a long and healthy life themselves, then WE need to be the examples for them to lead the way on eating healthy and living right.
This madness of continually telling the same lie over and over again expecting a different result is insane! But that's exactly what the health care industry, government leaders, and the self-appointed "experts" along with their willing accomplices in the press have been doing since the early 1970s with the promulgation of the low-fat diet. As I have stated before, I don't care if somebody chooses to go on the low-fat diet if that's what works for them.
But we need alternatives to be promoted with as much gusto and fanfare as low-fat has been. That includes low-carb! The stigma that has been placed on livin' la vida low-carb is unprecedented in the history of mankind. What are these people so afraid of about the low-carb lifestyle? If it gives hope for even ONE person out there that they can find a permanent way to lose weight and keep it off forever, then isn't it worth getting the word out about what it is, too?
As someone who weighed 410 pounds once and knows the pain of feeling hopeless regarding weight loss, the answer to that question is YES YES YES! It is so worth it! Don't ever let anyone tell you that you shouldn't try the low-carb life if everything else you've tried has let you down. You just start low-carbin' it for yourself and watch the unbelievable results begin happening for you, too! And don't you dare ever look back or start listening to the naysayers who will only try to drag you down.
This is your day. NOW is the time. There's nothing that is gonna hold you back from becoming the thin person that you so deeply desire to be. Throw away the excuses and JUST DO IT! Make today the first day of the rest of your long and healthy life. Because today you are gonna start livin' la vida low-carb. GO FOR IT!
posted by Jimmy Moore at
2/25/2006 08:15:00 PM
1 Comments:
Ah... how very true. So this is another study that confirms these already well-documented facts. I can hear the low-fatties cry already: "But potatoes contain essential vitamins, and fibers, and they are low in fat!".
Which is, of course, another piece of well-crafted misinformation as the vast majority of the already low vitamin content is removed by skinning the things and the remainder is subsequently very effectively destroyed during cooking.
At one time (and falsely) designated as "slow carbohydrates", potatoes, in reality have little more to offer than a lot of starch and the resulting glucose-insulin rollercoaster, plus a small quantity of very low quality fiber.
The nutritional value of these tubers is almost zero. That's why ancient populations used potatoes, together with corn, extensively to make cattle grow fat quickly.
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