Type 2 Diabetes and Mashed Potatoes: How to Make a Favorite Comfort Food More Diabetes Friendly!

There is no single food that causes more drops in diabetes control than mashed potatoes. Potatoes. A high-glycemic form of carbohydrate is said to increase insulin resistance and the risk of type 2 diabetes. A favorite side dish of the American Thanksgiving holiday, potatoes of all fads cause blood sugar levels to rise. blood from spiking, but there are three things you can do to minimize, or even eliminate, the damage.

1. Just say no instantly: When nutritional researchers measured the glycemic index of instant mashed potatoes, they found that instant mashed potatoes caused blood sugar levels to rise even faster than eating glucose tablets. That seems a bit unlikely, until you consider what’s actually in instant potatoes.

There are all kinds of additives, flavorings and stabilizers designed to keep the flakes from getting crushed in the box. When these chemical additives enter your system, you have an immediate reaction.

Without getting into the chemistry, this can be a “rapid” allergic reaction or a slower immune sensitivity reaction, but both cause the adrenal glands to release cortisol, which in turn causes blood sugar levels to rise. Simply peeling, boiling, and mashing potatoes makes their impact on glucose control much easier to manage. Instant has a glycemic index of about 110. Boiled Red Russets have a glycemic index of about 78.

2. Do not eat them very hot: Another factor that is overlooked when choosing foods to keep blood sugar levels as close to normal as possible is heat. Hot foods…although not boiling hot foods…are digested more quickly than warm or room temperature foods. If you let food cool before eating it, your body will digest it more slowly and your pancreas will have more time to release the insulin needed to transport the digested sugars to where they need to go. You can still cause your blood sugar levels to skyrocket out of control by eating too many cold carbohydrate foods, but all things being equal, warm or cold foods are better for diabetics than very hot foods.

3. Try Cauliflower: If you cut off the green leaves before boiling, boiled cauliflower has the same color as boiled potatoes. If you put a shelled walnut in the water with the cauliflower while it is boiling, the walnut absorbs the “cabbage” flavor and the result tastes like potatoes. If you drain the cauliflower well in a colander before mashing it, removing every last drop of cooking liquid, it will have the same consistency as mashed potatoes. But you will have 80 percent less carbohydrates.