Are you a potato lover? Deliciously mashed, perfectly fried, and drizzled with sour cream. The options for tots are limitless. Although potatoes are delicious, versatile, and filling, they can also be carb bombs. This means that these starchy vegetables can affect your blood sugar levels.
Carbohydrates, also known as glucose, are the body's primary source of energy. Excessive glucose can lead to a spike in blood sugar. This is something to watch out for, especially in the case of diabetes or prediabetes. This is how potatoes could impact your blood sugar, despite their energetic appeal.
Do Potatoes Spike Your Blood Sugar?
Carbohydrates are under fire with Keto becoming a fad diet. Starches are often the first thing to give up when you're trying to lose weight. But how many carbs are in a potato? Are potatoes that bad? Let's not forget about the GI.
Glycemic Index (GI) is a rating system that determines if food can raise blood sugar levels. American Diabetes Association (ADA) rates GI as low (55 or fewer), medium (56 to 69), and high (above 70%). Low GI foods can help manage blood sugar.
Most potatoes have a high glycemic index (GI). A single baked russet potato may have a GI as high as 111. For comparison, an average apple has 38 GI.
Potatoes have good health despite being ranked high in the GIO department. The high levels of phenolic compounds in potatoes can promote health.
Studies showed that the darker a potato’s pigment, the greater its polyphenol content. There are many varieties in the potato world. Remember that different potatoes have different blood sugar levels, and this is dependent on their GI as well as other nutritional elements.
You can make your Thanksgiving sweet potatoes (or even yams!) diabetic-friendly by removing the brown sugar and marshmallows. Sweet potatoes come loaded with:
- Iron
- Calcium
- Magnesium
- Phosphorus
- Zinc
- Thiamin
- Calcium
Both sweet and white potatoes contain similar amounts of carbs and fats as well as protein and water. The white basic potato is a great source of vitamin A and potassium.
Get Rid Of The Portion Control
Now you are familiar with GI. But what about glycemic loading (GL), GL can help you assess the quality of your carbs. It is the number that predicts how much a particular food will raise your blood sugar levels. It may seem complicated to figure out the glycemic loads, but it's easy if this formula is followed.
Glycemic Load = GI x Carbohydrate / 100 (per serving).
Starchy foods, such as potatoes, bread, and rice, can raise blood sugar and insulin more often than wholesome sugary food like fresh fruits. However, traditional starches such as whole grain pasta and potatoes have a lower load.
However, a low GI food option doesn't necessarily mean a healthy one. Consider chocolate, for instance. Dark cocoa has a GI average of 23 but high amounts of saturated fats. This drastically reduces its nutritional content.
Finding the right balance of GI, and other health benefits are the key to managing glucose levels.
False or true, all carbs can be considered the same. FALSE. In reality, carbs can be divided into three groups: sugar, fiber, and starch.
Each carb group serves the body differently. A 2017 study that was done on a test group of humans showed that low carbohydrate diets may be beneficial for glucose control, HDL cholesterol management, A1c, and managing triglycerides.
