Potato lovers may have higher diabetes risk

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TC - 24 Feb 2006 15:07 GMT

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=2006-02-2
3T173345Z_01_HAR363207_RTRUKOC_0_US-POTATO-RISK.xml

Potato lovers may have higher diabetes risk
Thu Feb 23, 2006 12:33 PM ET

By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Holding that side of fries might help
thwart type 2 diabetes, new research suggests.

In a long-term study of nearly 85,000 U.S. women, researchers at
Harvard University found that those with the highest potato intake had
a modestly elevated risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The link was strongest among obese women, who are already at increased
risk of the disease, suggesting that heavy potato consumption may pose
a particular problem for them, the researchers point out.

The findings are published in the American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition.

Though potatoes have healthful attributes, they also have a high
glycemic index (GI) -- meaning they cause a rapid, strong rise in blood
sugar. Over time, these surges may damage the pancreatic cells that
produce the hormone insulin, which is needed to metabolize blood sugar.

Overweight or sedentary adults may be particularly vulnerable to the
effects of high-GI foods because they often have underlying insulin
resistance -- a precursor to diabetes in which body cells lose their
sensitivity to insulin.

So it would make sense for these individuals to lay off the french
fries, Thomas L. Halton, the lead author of the new study, told Reuters
Health.

He and his colleagues found that women with the highest potato intake
were 14 percent more likely than those with the lowest intake to
develop diabetes over 20 years. And women who ate the most french
fries, specifically, had a 21 percent greater risk of diabetes than
those who ate the fewest.

Overall diet and other lifestyle habits did not explain the link, and
potatoes seemed to be more problematic when a woman ate them instead of
whole grains.

Whole grains -- as well as many high-fiber vegetables, fruits and
legumes -- have a lower GI than potatoes and white-flour products. So
eating those foods in place of potatoes, Halton's team concludes, could
potentially cut diabetes risk.

SOURCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, February 2006.

********************

HFCS and now poatoes.

Hmmmm. Maybe the term "Sugar Diabetes" ought to be changed to "Carb
Diabetes".

TC

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jt - 24 Feb 2006 23:38 GMT

>http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=2006-02-2
3T173345Z_01_HAR363207_RTRUKOC_0_US-POTATO-RISK.xml
>
[quoted text clipped - 56 lines]
>
>TC

The problem is the vegetable oils & trans fat not potatos.

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Enrico C - 24 Feb 2006 23:38 GMT

On 24 Feb 2006 07:07:56 -0800, TC wrote in
<news:1140793676.651172.162950@p10g2000cwp.googlegroups.com> on
sci.med.nutrition :

> http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=2006-02-2
3T173345Z_01_HAR363207_RTRUKOC_0_US-POTATO-RISK.xml

[...]

> Whole grains -- as well as many high-fiber vegetables, fruits and
> legumes -- have a lower GI than potatoes and white-flour products. So
> eating those foods in place of potatoes, Halton's team concludes, could
> potentially cut diabetes risk.
>
> SOURCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, February 2006.

Here is the abstract

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/83/2/284
ORIGINAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATION
Potato and french fry consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes in
women1,2,3
Thomas L Halton1, Walter C Willett1, Simin Liu1, JoAnn E Manson1, Meir
J Stampfer1 and Frank B Hu1

1 From the Departments of Nutrition (TLH, MJS, WCW, and FBH) and
Epidemiology (JEM, MJS, SL, WCW, and FBH), Harvard School of Public
Health; the Channing Laboratory (JEM, MJS, WCW, and FBH); and the
Division of Preventive Medicine (JEM and SL), Department of Medicine,
Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA

Background: Potatoes, a high glycemic form of carbohydrate, are
hypothesized to increase insulin resistance and risk of type 2
diabetes.

Objective: The objective was to examine prospectively the relation
between potato consumption and the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Design: We conducted a prospective study of 84 555 women in the
Nurses' Health Study. At baseline, the women were aged 34–59 y, had no
history of chronic disease, and completed a validated food-frequency
questionnaire. The participants were followed for 20 y with repeated
assessment of diet.

Results: We documented 4496 new cases of type 2 diabetes. Potato and
french fry consumption were both positively associated with risk of
type 2 diabetes after adjustment for age and dietary and nondietary
factors. The multivariate relative risk (RR) in a comparison between
the highest and the lowest quintile of potato intake was 1.14 (95% CI:
1.02, 1.26; P for trend = 0.009). The multivariate RR in a comparison
between the highest and the lowest quintile of french fry intake was
1.21 (95% CI: 1.09, 1.33; P for trend < 0.0001). The RR of type 2
diabetes was 1.18 (95% CI: 1.03, 1.35) for 1 daily serving of potatoes
and 1.16 (95% CI: 1.05, 1.29) for 2 weekly servings of french fries.
The RR of type 2 diabetes for substituting 1 serving potatoes/d for 1
serving whole grains/d was 1.30 (95% CI: 1.08, 1.57). The association
between potato consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes was more
pronounced in obese women.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest a modest positive association
between the consumption of potatoes and the risk of type 2 diabetes in
women. This association was more pronounced when potatoes were
substituted for whole grains.

Key Words: Potato • french fry • type 2 diabetes • glycemic load •
glycemic index • Nurses' Health Study • women

====

And, in the same February issue of Ajcn...

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/83/2/275
ORIGINAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATION
Whole grains, bran, and germ in relation to homocysteine and markers
of glycemic control, lipids, and inflammation
[...]
Design: This was a cross-sectional study of the relations of whole
grains, bran, and germ intakes with homocysteine and markers of
glycemic control, lipids, and inflammation in 938 healthy men and
women.
[...]
Conclusion: The results suggest a lower risk of diabetes and heart
disease in persons who consume diets high in whole grains.

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