Mashed Potatoes on a Diabetic Diet

Mashed potatoes are the downfall of many diabetic’ diets (including mine). Two tasty alternatives, however, are just as comforting as the traditional recipe. And even if you just have to have your mashed potatoes, there are ways to lower their impact on blood sugar control (if you don’t eat the whole bowl).

No sensible diet plan for diabetics recommends mashed potatoes as more than an occasional treat planned to be eaten before exercise. Although a good dollop of butter and cream can lower the potato’s effective glycemic index from 108 (instant potatoes’ glycemic index relative to bread) to 50 or so, the more fat you add to potatoes, the longer you need to eat them before your stomach signals it’s full.

Any diabetic can (and many diabetics do) raise blood sugars by eating too many carrots. Anything that makes you eat more mashed potatoes is going to raise blood glucose levels sooner or later. In case you really want to use a glycemic index approach to eating potatoes, here is an essential hint:

Hot potatoes have a higher glycemic index, that is their sugars are released more quickly, than cold potatoes. Red Russet potatoes served piping hot have a glycemic index of 89, but if they’re eaten cold, they have a glycemic index of 56.

Essentially your stomach has to warm up your mashed potatoes before they are digested, and that slows down the release of sugars. That doesn’t mean the sugars aren’t eventually released, and that’s why diabetics need generally to avoid their mashed potatoes. There is a way to get the same taste and feel as mashed potatoes, however, from artful preparation of cauliflower.

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