Potatoes, Eastern Europe and Diabetes

#1

Why do you think places where potatoes are a major crop don’t have as much diabetes? The reason I ask is it seems like one day I might want to eat potatoes again, yet they are very insulinogenic (sp?) and I know I have several signs of insulin resistance. Yet there are many people in that part of the world who consume potatoes yet don’t have diabetes or insulin resistance. I’m sure the same question could be asked about parts of Asia where rice is consumed. Thank you for reading this and I hope this isn’t a dumb question.

(Candy Lind) #2

You’ve got me! I’m curious.

(Jane) #3

The Germans eat a lot of potatoes and they are the most obese Europeans I’ve seen.

OTOH the Swedes eat fish and potatoes EVERY DAY (not kidding) and they are mostly thin.

N=2 but who knows.

I eat the potatoes I grow in my garden because they are a labor of love and taste so much better than store potatoes. They are an occasional treat I plan for and haven’t caused me to gain weight or cause any other issues.

#4

For me, as far as my blood sugar went, I found mashed potatoes gave the least spike and french fries and hash browns gave the largest spikes. Baked potatoes and potato salad were hit or miss.

Pre-keto, potatoes were a big part of my diet.

#5

The UK are more obese than the Germans, we (not I) eat a lot of potatoes.

#6

Even though Poland for example eat a lot of potatoes they also eat more traditionally and frugally with more home cooking and seasonal local produce, a lot of it home grown. Basically they eat more real food than the UK which consumes a lot of fast/junk food.

(Jane) #7

I haven’t been to the UK. How do they compare to the US? I think we are the most obese of any nation… but then Big Food is based here and we were their guinea pigs.

(Jane) #8

The US is a big place and the variations are large.

If you compared the population of Colorado to those of Arkansas the obesity statistics would be vastly different.

#9

This makes me think of the fact that Asians, until recently, were always thin even though they eat tons of white rice.

What has changed so that Asians are now being diagnosed diabetic at a rapid rate? Processed food.

That seems to be the critical factor. Certainly “junk” food, but also just plain processed food - anything with flour, vegetable oil, sweeteners, etc. Packaged food with a label with more than 3-5 ingredients.

I am curious about this for myself - I’m wondering if I can, at some point, by continuing to keep all processed food out of my diet, eat brown rice again, potatoes, etc. without having my insulin levels spike again and my weight go up again.

(Omar) #10

Some communities eat lots of starches not only potatoes and get away with it.

I do not know how .

#11

I think resistant starch, processing, variety of potato, whether it is eaten with fibre (other veg), by itself (big pile of mash) or with fat (chips) all plays a part. And then there are the cultural differences between different national cuisines. I mean, bangers and mash (UK), burger and fries (US) and boiled potatoes and ham (anywhere) have hugely different effects, for all the reasons I mentioned above.

High fat intake is only OK in the absence of carbs. Like a child’s see-saw in the playground. High fat, low carb is good. High carb (incl fibre) and low fat is good. High carb and high fat at the same time = a death sentence.

(Todd Allen) #12

If you are metabolically healthy potatoes aren’t a problem. However, with metabolic derangement ones tolerance for carbohydrates declines and then the high glycemic load of potatoes contributes to hyperinsulinemia and all of its ravages.

(Christian) #13

Not all obese persons suffer from diabetes/IR and not all persons suffering from diabetes/IR are obese. There is a lot of science about this rules in “Eat Rich Live Long” by Ivor Cummins & Jeffrey Gerber. The best test for IR (Kraft’s test) is rarely used in western countries and probably most IR-affected persons do not even know about their problem. Anyway, who tolerates starches and feels good may continue.

(Bob M) #14

You also have to consider the idea of PUFAs, which are prevalent now and used for french fries. I have had high blood sugar caused by potatoes with breakfast, although I do eat normal (baked) potatoes if I’m out and they are on the plate. Sometimes potatoes cooked in duck fat.

#15

Thank you all for your answers. They make sense. Maybe one day I’ll have a potato but miraculously I just don’t have cravings anymore.

(Brian) #17

Marion, I’m kinda confused about just what you do eat. You say high protein, low fat and no meat. I’ve always thought that high protein without meat was difficult to do, especially without taking the carbs way up.

Maybe I misread your post. (?)

#18

The comments about Germany vs Sweden made me wonder if there was a correlation to sugar consumption. I remember reading a while back that the Japanese historically had low rates of diabetes despite relatively high carb intake, but their sugar intake was traditionally low.

Germany isn’t too far behind the US in sugar consumption.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/02/05/where-people-around-the-world-eat-the-most-sugar-and-fat/?utm_term=.6ecf28eb64c5

(Rob Grantham) #19

Lots of people in Poland do have dt2 it’s a big problem along with heart disease strokes and other metabolic issues. In the last 20-30 years since communism fell sugar consumption has gone up. It used to be rationed. Portions of food were also smaller and people who are potatoes (poor farmers) often mitigated their insulin response by working manually all day. Compare this to our highly refined carb and sedentary lifestyle and we can see a huge difference in the way we live and eat.

(Jane) #20

I just got back from Belgium. They aren’t thin like the Dutch and Swedes but not obese as a rule.

When I go to China I enjoy their food - no sugar in the sauces or foods although I miss dairy.

I was surprised by the high sugar consumption of the Netherlands because obesity is such a rarity there. But they bicycle and walk everywhere so maybe they burn it up. My company used to be based there so I’ve had a lot of interactions and trips there and I don’t recall them eating a lot of sugary foods. Bread, yes, but not sugar. But then I was always eating out, not in their homes.

#21

Interesting. I was never diagnosed diabetic, but I am certain I was pre-diabetic a year ago – which is why I went Keto in January. And like you, I never ate processed foods. Well, I ate pasta occasionally. I made things like pizza dough and bread (until I learned I was gluten intolerant), but my weight steadily increased and symptoms of insulin resistance mounted on my “healthy” diet of organic short grain brown rice, occasional gluten-free pasta, some rice crackers with cheese – that sort of thing. Compared to a standard American diet, I have always eaten a mostly whole-foods, non-processed diet, but that didn’t save me, either!