Eating potatoes ‘linked to diabetes in pregnancy’

“The researchers analysed the association between potato consumption and gestational diabetes by observing data from The Nurses” health study which has analysed 116430 nurses aged 24-44 between 1991 and 2001. the study found that of 21,693 single foetus pregnancies, 4% of women developed gestational diabetes. “The more women consumed potatoes, the greater risk they had for gestational diabetes”, said study senior author Dr. Cuilin Zhang in a news item.

Gestational diabetes, a common pregnancy complication, causes high blood sugar levels in the mother.

The women in the study were asked about potato consumption in the previous year as part of a questionnaire, looking at how often they ate certain foods.

According to the background information viable of the research, around 35% of women in the United States in their childbearing years consume potatoes daily.

Regular consumption of a significant quantity of potatoes can therefore put a woman at an increased risk of developing gestational diabetes.

The findings appear in The BMJ (formerly the British Medical Journal). Earlier studies have linked foods with a high glycemic index (GI), a measure of the carbohydrate-containing foods’ ability to raise blood sugar levels, to a higher risk of gestational or type 2 diabetes, researchers of National Institutes of Health (NIH) said.

“Gestational diabetes can mean women develop pre-eclampsia during pregnancy and hypertension”, she said.

Potatoes are the third most commonly consumed food crop in the world, after rice and wheat.

Dr Louis Levy, head of nutrition science at Public Health England, said: “As the authors acknowledge, it is not possible to show cause and effect from this study”.

Although gestational diabetes usually goes away after the baby is born, the Victorian Government’s Better Health Channel reports that a woman is more likely to develop gestational diabetes in future pregnancies after she has had it once.

It is thought that the high starch is what triggers diabetes, which is risky in pregnancy and can lead to fatigue, recurrent infections and blurred vision.

“The strength of the evidence does not warrant a change in current United Kingdom advice, which is a varied diet providing starchy foods, choosing wholegrains and potatoes with skins where possible and potatoes to increase fibre, as well as plenty of vegetables and fruit, moderate amounts of lean meat, fish and/or other protein sources such as eggs and pulses, and moderate amounts of lower fat dairy products, such as milk, yogurt and cheese (or calcium-enriched dairy-free alternatives)”. But for some women, the condition may prolong – eventually developing into type 2 diabetes.

The researchers say more study is needed as their results do not prove conclusively that potato consumption directly leads to gestational diabetes.

“Women should not be alarmed by this study”.