Potatoes are a favorite food for many people around the world, but some worry about how eating them might impact health, particularly blood pressure and weight. Past studies suggested that eating too many potatoes might lead to higher blood pressure and weight gain.
However, these studies didn’t take into account how the potatoes were prepared, what other foods were eaten alongside them, or the overall quality of the meal.
To understand this better, researchers from Imperial College London conducted a study to see if the way potatoes are cooked changes their effect on blood pressure and body mass index (BMI), a measure of body fat based on height and weight.
The researchers studied 2,696 adults aged 40 to 59 from the United States and the United Kingdom. These participants were part of a larger study called the International Study of Macro- and Micro-Nutrients and Blood Pressure (INTERMAP), which investigates how diet impacts blood pressure.
The team looked at how often the participants ate different types of potatoes, including boiled, mashed, baked, and fried, as well as the overall quality of their diets. Their findings were surprising.
Eating non-fried potatoes—whether boiled, mashed, baked, or in mixed dishes—didn’t seem to affect blood pressure or BMI. However, fried potatoes were a different story, particularly for women in the US.
The study found that women who ate more fried potatoes had slightly higher blood pressure (both systolic and diastolic, the two numbers used to measure it). They also tended to have a higher BMI. Interestingly, these effects weren’t seen in men.
Another important finding was that the health effects of fried potatoes seemed to depend on the overall quality of the meal they were part of. In meals that were less nutritious, fried potatoes were more likely to be linked to higher blood pressure in US women.
But when fried potatoes were included in healthier meals, the negative effects on blood pressure disappeared.
What does this mean for you? While non-fried potatoes don’t appear to cause problems with blood pressure or weight, fried potatoes might, especially for women and when paired with less healthy meals.
If you’re trying to keep your blood pressure under control, this research suggests paying attention not just to what you eat, but also to how it’s prepared and the overall nutritional quality of your meals.
In addition to limiting fried foods, you might consider other strategies to manage blood pressure. Some studies suggest that consuming foods rich in Vitamin C, reducing added sugars, or taking probiotics can help.
This study, led by Ghadeer S. Aljuraiban and her team, was published in the journal Clinical Nutrition. It highlights the importance of looking at the bigger picture when it comes to diet. How we prepare food and what we eat it with can make a big difference, even with something as familiar as potatoes.
So, while potatoes can be a healthy part of your diet, it’s worth thinking about how they’re cooked and the type of meals they’re included in to ensure they don’t negatively impact your health.
If you care about blood pressure, please read studies about unhealthy habits that could increase high blood pressure risk, and people with severe high blood pressure should reduce coffee intake.
For more information about blood pressure, please see recent studies that early time-restricted eating could help improve blood pressure, and results showing plant-based foods could benefit people with high blood pressure.
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