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In a research that tracked the diets of greater than 205,000 adults over a long time, French fries had been related to an elevated threat of growing sort 2 diabetes (T2D), whereas different types of potatoes—together with baked, boiled, and mashed—weren’t. The research, led by Harvard T.H. Chan College of Public Well being additionally discovered that swapping any type of potato for entire grains might decrease the danger of T2D.
The research was revealed within the BMJ.
In keeping with the researchers, whereas earlier research hinted at a hyperlink between potatoes and T2D, the proof was inconsistent and sometimes lacked element on cooking strategies and the potential results of substituting different meals for potatoes.
“Our study offers deeper, more comprehensive insights by looking at different types of potatoes, tracking diet over decades, and exploring the effects of swapping potatoes for other foods,” stated lead creator Seyed Mohammad Mousavi, postdoctoral analysis fellow within the Division of Diet.
“We’re shifting the conversation from, ‘Are potatoes good or bad?’ to a more nuanced—and useful—question: How are they prepared, and what might we eat instead?”
For greater than 30 years, individuals frequently responded to dietary questionnaires, detailing the frequency with which they consumed sure meals, together with French fries; baked, boiled, or mashed potatoes; and entire grains.
In addition they reported on new well being diagnoses, together with T2D, and numerous different well being, life-style, and demographic components, which the researchers managed for. Over the course of the research interval, 22,299 individuals reported that they developed T2D.
The research discovered that three servings weekly of French fries elevated the danger of growing T2D by 20%. Baked, boiled, and mashed potatoes weren’t considerably related to T2D threat.
The researchers calculated, nonetheless, that consuming entire grains—equivalent to entire grain pasta, bread, or farro—instead of baked, boiled, or mashed potatoes might scale back the danger of T2D by 4%. Changing French fries with entire grains might convey T2D threat down by 19%. Even swapping refined grains for French fries was estimated to decrease T2D threat.
The researchers complemented their research with a novel meta-analytic strategy to estimate how swapping potatoes for entire grains might have an effect on the danger of T2D, utilizing information from beforehand revealed cohort research.
This concerned two separate meta-analyses: one based mostly on information from 13 cohorts analyzing potato consumption and the opposite from 11 cohorts on entire grain consumption, every encompassing over 500,000 individuals and 43,000 T2D diagnoses throughout 4 continents. The outcomes had been intently per these of the brand new research.
“The public health message here is simple and powerful: small changes in our daily diet can have an important impact on the risk of type 2 diabetes. Limiting potatoes—especially limiting French fries—and choosing healthy, whole-grain sources of carbohydrate could help lower the risk of type 2 diabetes across the population,” stated corresponding creator Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and vitamin.
“For policymakers, our findings highlight the need to move beyond broad food categories and pay closer attention to how foods are prepared and what they’re replacing. Not all carbs—or even all potatoes—are created equal, and that distinction is crucial when it comes to shaping effective dietary guidelines.”
Extra data:
Whole and particular potato consumption and threat of sort 2 diabetes: outcomes from three US cohort research and a substitution meta-analysis of potential cohorts, The BMJ (2025). DOI: 10.1136/bmj-2024-082121
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Harvard T.H. Chan College of Public Well being
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Potatoes might enhance threat of sort 2 diabetes—relying on their preparation (2025, August 6)
retrieved 6 August 2025
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