4 STEPS TO BETTER BGLs FOR POTATO LOVERS
STEP 1: KEEP PORTIONS MODERATE. Why? Potatoes are carb
rich. A typical medium potato (150g/5oz) has around 20g carbohydrate to
help power your day. They are what we call good carbs – they put a lot
of really good stuff on your dinner plate like dietary fibre and
essential micronutrients including vitamins C, B (B6, riboflavin,
thiamin and folate) and the minerals potassium, magnesium, and iron. The
easiest way to keep an eye on portion size, is to eyeball the serving
sizes by dividing the dinner plate into three sections. Protein foods
(1) and wholegrains/starchy foods (2) should each take up just a quarter
of the plate. Cooked green veggies or salad veggies (or both) should
fill the remaining half (3).
STEP 2: CHOOSE A LOWER CARB POTATO. There are some
varieties of potato with fewer carbs. We sourced five packaged brands
with about 20–25% less carbohydrate than regular spuds. Because growing
conditions affect the carb content, the producers test their spuds
regularly to ensure they meet the lower carbs claim on the packaging.
Catherine Saxelby at Foodwatch did some experimenting with
Carisma and Spud Lite and reports they are good all-rounders for family
fare: they boil, mash and bake nicely. Check out her reports on her
website (see Read More). If you want to taste test: the team at
GiLicious have shared a recipe with us which you can find in The Good
Carbs Kitchen.
STEP 3: CHOOSE A LOWER GI POTATO. Most
potatoes have high GI values averaging around 77 (globally). This is
because whatever the variety, potato starch consists of amylopectin and
amylose in a fairly constant ratio of 3:1. When we checked the database
at www.glycemicindex.com;
flicked through The Shopper’s Guide to GI Values, and trawled back
issues of GI News we found one potato with a low GI and several with
moderate values which are better choices for managing blood glucose.
While the variety makes a difference, there are other factors
that affect GI. Small, new season potatoes tend to have a lower GI than
fully grown spuds left in the ground longer. The recipe changes things,
too. Cooking spuds in their skins and serving them with a vinegary
dressing lowers the GI. Mashing them with white beans does too as will
letting them get cold and making a potato salad, thanks to the resistant
starch factor. However, it doesn’t seem to make that much difference to
the GI whether you bake, boil or mash a particular variety of potato.
STEP 4: WATCH THE GLYCEMIC LOAD. How
high your blood glucose level rises and how long it remains elevated
when you eat a food or meal containing carbohydrate depends on both the
GI of the carbohydrate and the total amount of carbohydrate in the food
or meal. We use the term “glycemic load” or GL to describe this total
amount. You calculate GL by multiplying the GI of a food by its
available carbohydrate content (carbohydrate minus fibre in the USA) in
the serving (in grams), divided by 100 (because GI is a percentage).
A
regular medium-sized (150g/5oz) boiled potato with a high GI (average
77) provides approximately 20g of available carbohydrate. Its glycemic
load is 15 (77 ÷ 100 × 20 = 15). Eat two potatoes and that jumps to 30.
You
can reduce the load by reducing the portion size of the potato, or by
choosing potatoes with less carbohydrate, or potatoes with a low or
lower GI.
- A medium GiLicious potato which has a moderate GI (61) contains 15 grams of available carbohydrate. Its glycemic load is 9 (61 × 15 ÷ 100 = 9).
- A medium Nadine potato, which has a low GI (49) contains 20 grams of available carbohydrate. Its glycemic load is 10 (49 × 20 ÷ 100 = 10).
Read More:
