Potatoes Increase The Risk Of Hypertension

Author: Karen Lennox Time for reading: ~1 minutes Last Updated: August 08, 2022

Potatoes Increase The Risk Of Hypertension

Consumption of potatoes four times a week or more threatens to raise blood pressure levels.

Consumption of potatoes four times a week can increase the risk of developing hypertension , experts warn. This also applies to baked and boiled potatoes. Their consumption increases the risk of rising blood pressure levels as much as potato chips .

Chips are known to be high in fat due to the frying process , which poses health risks.

According to researchers at Harvard Medical School in the United States, eating potatoes in any form poses a risk to blood pressure levels . They believe that the cause is in the starch in the potatoes. Because they have a high glycemic index , starchy carbohydrates are rapidly transformed into sugars when they enter the body, leading to a rise in blood sugar levels. Over time, this can cause blood sugar problems .

For the purposes of their study, the researchers analyzed data from 187,000 men and women who were followed for 20 years. They are involved in three large-scale projects in the United States.

The data show that women who regularly eat potatoes may be at a slightly higher risk of hypertension than men. In general, among men and women who consume potatoes four times a week, whether fried, baked or cooked, the risk of high blood pressure increases by 11%. The comparison is with those who consume potatoes less than once a month.

It is also found that among people who consume chips four or more times a week, the risk of developing hypertension is higher by 17%. Experts also found that replacing one serving of potatoes a day with non-starchy carbohydrates reduced this risk by 7%.

The data are published in the British Medical Journal .

Potatoes Increase The Risk Of Hypertension

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