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It has been debated whether potatoes are healthy or not because of their high glycemic index. High glycemic foods are a concern because they are digested quickly which causes a higher increase of blood glucose and insulin levels. This increases the risk of insulin resistance, diabetes, and heart disease. However, there are ways to reduce the impact on your blood sugar and insulin.
So how do you lower the glycemic impact?
Cooling some foods after cooking, such as potatoes, rice, and wheat, increases the resistant starch contained within them. This process is called starch retrogradation. Cooling the food in the refrigerator overnight is known to at least triple the resistant starch contained within the food and lower the glycemic index by up to 40% for potatoes and even more for rice and wheat.
Resistant starch is good because:
- It reduces the rise of blood glucose and insulin levels after eating.
- It is a prebiotic, meaning it feeds the good bacteria in your intestines, creating a healthier microbiome.
- It cannot be digested by the body, so it passes through the small intestine into the large intestine. This makes it available to be eaten by the bacteria in the large intestine.
- The bacteria that digests the resistant starch will create short chain fatty acids such as butyrate. Butyrate is the preferred energy source for the cells in your large intestine. Therefore, your large intestine becomes more balanced, healthy, and functional. Butyrate helps prevent colon cancer.
So obviously, cooking and cooling your potatoes is the way to go if you want it to be lower glycemic and more nutritious. You can also reheat the potato and it will keep its resistant starch as long as it doesn’t heat higher than 140ºF (you’ll begin breaking down the resistant starch that formed in the refrigerator if you overheat it).
Other ways to lower the glycemic effect of potatoes:
- Pair it with an acid such as vinegar, citrus, or a tomato product (like salsa). Acidic food slows down the rate at which the stomach empties food into the small intestine, which in turn slows the breakdown of carbohydrates and gives the body more time to remove glucose from the blood. This ultimately reduces the increase in blood sugar you typically have after eating potatoes (or any food really).
- Pair it with a healthy fat such as olive oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil. This slows the digestion of the potato, therefore creating a smaller insulin release.
- Pair it with a protein. This also slows the digestion of the potato.
- Keep in mind, sweet potatoes, purple potatoes, fingerling potatoes, and red potatoes potatoes are naturally lower glycemic than white or yellow potatoes. The colorful potatoes also have more polyphenols (the substance that produces color in fruits and veggies) which means more nutrients and antioxidants. Better yet, if you choose the lower glycemic potatoes, cool them, and pair them with an acid, protein, and/or healthy fat, then you are lowering the glycemic index significantly.
