Diabetic Digest - March 30, 2016

Readers:

I love potatoes! Mashed potatoes, potato chips, boiled potatoes, roasted potatoes, potatoes, potatoes and more potatoes! They are the best. But then I read about a new study relieved that women who eat potatoes "more than five times a week are at a 50 percent higher risk for developing gestational diabetes."

That's scary. Please take a few minutes and ready about this study.

Regards,
Steve

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Comments? Questions? Email Steve


*-- Diabetic News --*
Eating potatoes, chips often may cause pregnancy diabetes

BOSTON - Women who eat potatoes -- baked, boiled, mashed, or fried -- more than five times a week are at a 50 percent higher risk for developing gestational diabetes, according to a new study.

While the study does not determine a cause and effect between potatoes and diabetes, doctors say it reinforces the need for pregnant women to maintain a balanced diet. The National Institutes of Health study is one of the first to focus on the effects of potatoes on pregnancy, the agency said in a press release.

Gestational diabetes is linked to eating foods with a high glycemic index and ability to raise blood sugar levels. About 9.2 percent of pregnant women develop the condition, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is often diagnosed around the 24th week of pregnancy.

"The more women consumed potatoes, the greater risk they had for gestational diabetes," Dr. Cuilin Zhang, a senior researcher at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, told HealthDay. "Potatoes are regarded as a kind of vegetable, but not all vegetables are healthy."

For the study, published in the British Medical Journal, researchers analyzed health records for 15,632 women who participated in the Nurses Health Study II between 1991 and 2001 who did not have gestational diabetes or other chronic diseases before becoming pregnant. Women were assessed on consumption of potatoes and other foods every four years, with first incidence of diabetes reported by patients and validated by medical records.

During the ten-year follow-up, there were 854 cases of pregnancy diabetes in the 21,693 pregnancies among women in the study. After adjusting for age, parity, weight, and dietary factors, the researchers found women who ate two to four 3.5-ounce servings per week of any type of potato had a 27 percent increased risk for the condition. Women who ate more than five servings saw their risk increase by 50 percent.

The risk was found to be reduced by 9 to 12 percent in women who substituted two servings of potatoes per week for other vegetables, legumes, or whole grain foods.

"This study does not prove that eating potatoes before pregnancy will increase a woman's risk developing gestational diabetes, but it does highlight a potential association between the two," Dr. Emily Burns, a researcher at Diabetes UK, told the BBC. "However, as the researchers acknowledge, these results need to be investigated in a controlled trial setting before we can know more. What we do know is that women can significantly reduce their risk of developing gestational diabetes by managing their weight through eating a healthy, balanced diet and keeping active."


*-- Diabetic News --*
PARTY TACO SALAD
INGREDIENTS:
2 lbs ground beef
2 packages taco seasoning mix
16 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
1 red onion, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 heads iceberg lettuce, chopped
4 tomatoes, chopped
2 avocados, chopped
1 can black olives, chopped
1 large bag of Doritos nacho chips, crumbled
1 8-ounce bottle Catalina salad dressing

DIRECTIONS:
Brown ground beef with chopped yellow onion. Add 1 package of taco seasoning and water according to package directions. Set aside to cool completely. In a large bowl mix together chopped lettuce, tomato, cheese, avocado, red onion, olives, and 2nd package of taco seasoning. Add cooled beef mixture. Just before serving toss with the dressing and the last step is to mix in 3/4 of the package of crushed Doritos, leaving the rest on the side for people who want extra. (they get soggy if you do them too early.)

Categories: Salad, Picnics, Potluck, Sides

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