{"id":7292,"date":"2010-05-02T15:28:29","date_gmt":"2010-05-02T19:28:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=7292"},"modified":"2015-12-27T15:45:37","modified_gmt":"2015-12-27T20:45:37","slug":"potatoes-just-say-no","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=7292","title":{"rendered":"Potatoes: Just Say No"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, I changed the way I ate. I stopped eating all sugary foods, I cut out most fruit and cut back on the all of the other carbs in my diet \u2013 grains and starches.<\/p>\n

One of the foods I gave up almost completely was potatoes. Unlike rice which is still part of my regular diet (brown rice, that is) and pasta which I eat occasionally (and usually regret), potatoes just about disappeared from our home.\u00a0 I do have a few French fries every once in a while when I go out for a burger (it doesn\u2019t happen all that often) but I can\u2019t remember the last time I made potatoes at home for me or for the kids. I used to love potatoes but until yesterday, I never missed them.<\/p>\n

Yesterday I was preparing some potatoes to take to my son\u2019s class bonfire. I put four medium potatoes in a pot of water to pre-cook them before the fire – and then forgot about them. When I suddenly remembered the boiling potatoes, it was too late. They were totally cooked through and their skin was peeling off. I drained the water and let them cool while I figured out what to do with them. I decided to just forget about cooking them in the bonfire since every time I take my kids to one of these things, they\u2019re so full by the time the potatoes come out they don\u2019t even want them.<\/p>\n

A few minutes later, when the potatoes were cool enough to handle, I took a piece of one, salted it lightly and tasted it. It was just the right temperature and just the right texture. It was amazing, fantastic, and absolutely delicious. I couldn\u2019t get over how much I liked it. I also knew I was going to be in trouble if I had any more. So I decided to make mashed potatoes with the remaining three and a half potatoes. The mashed potatoes were good too, but not too good to resist.<\/p>\n

This whole potato ordeal got me thinking \u2013 why did I give up potatoes over other carbs?\u00a0 Was it just because it was an easy thing to give up? \u00a0Until today, I\u2019d never checked to see if it was a good decision and if it made any sense.<\/p>\n

According to nutrition data<\/a>, potatoes are healthier than pasta. Whole wheat spaghetti for example, is 75% carbohydrate with very little else in it. According to the labels on the (Barilla) pasta I have at home they all are around 72% carbohydrate. (Egg pasta is much better, with only half the amount of carb.) Potatoes, on the other hand, have less carbohydrate (they\u2019re only 18%), are a very good source of vitamin C and a good source of dietary fiber, vitamin B6 and potassium.<\/p>\n

But what about their Glycemic Index? According to the University of Sydney GI website, pasta has a GI of 45-55 depending on the brand (egg pasta is the same). Potatoes have a GI of 58 \u2013 100 depending on the kind of potato. According to David Mendosa<\/a> the results of 24 studies show the GI of potatoes ranges from 67 to 158.\u00a0 Anything with a GI of over 70 is considered to have a high gylcemic index, which means that even though potatoes have not as dense a carb as pasta, they are likely to make my blood sugar sky rocket quickly.<\/p>\n

So I guess I was right about the potatoes, but wrong about the pasta. I shouldn\u2019t eat either. I know some diabetics say \u201ceat anything you want and just cover it\u201d. But I never seem to just cover it; I go on a rollercoaster of highs and lows. This always makes me wish I had just said no.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":129,"featured_media":53098,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1501],"tags":[50,777],"yoast_head":"\nPotatoes and diabetes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/asweetlife.org\/?p=7292\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Michael Aviad\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" 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