Background

Potatoes have long been a staple food across cultures but have faced scrutiny due to their higher glycemic index (GI) and association with Western dietary patterns. Despite concerns over their impact on metabolic health from epidemiological studies, clinical evidence suggests that potatoes, when consumed in their whole-food form, provide valuable nutrients and can be part of a high-quality diet.

What we did

We conducted a quasi-umbrella review during our background research to summarize evidence on carbohydrate quality metrics, used the USDA Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies to classify potato items according to type (fried, baked, etc.), synthesized the epidemiological and clinical evidence on potato intake and type 2 diabetes, and published the results in a perspective article.

You can read the full article published in Advances in Nutrition here.

Disclaimer: Traverse Science received funding from FoodMinds, Potatoes USA, and The Alliance for Potato Research & Education to write the manuscript. FoodMinds assisted with conceptualization and editorial review of the perspective but did not contribute to background research, supervision, or writing of the manuscript.

Key Findings from the Literature

A comprehensive review of epidemiologic data and clinical trials reveals several important insights about potato consumption:

• Nutrient Density: Potatoes are particularly rich in fiber and potassium. They score comparably to legumes and whole grains in carbohydrate quality indices.
• Health Associations: Meta-analyses of epidemiological studies suggest that while high potato intake may be linked to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in Western populations, the association disappears in Eastern populations, where consumption levels are lower.
• Glycemic Index Considerations: Although the high GI of potatoes indicates potential risk, clinical trials show that when potatoes replace refined grains (e.g., white rice, bread, pasta), they have a neutral or even beneficial effect on metabolic health.
• Dietary Patterns Matter: Potatoes are often grouped with energy-dense foods in Western dietary patterns, which may drive negative health associations.
• Processing & Preparation: Fried potato intake is often conflated with total potato intake in studies. However, baked or boiled potatoes with the skin intact have higher nutritional value.

Implications for Diet and Public Health

Decades of reliance on the GI, exaggeration of prospective cohort data, and groupings of potatoes within “Western” dietary patterns have resulted in the perception that the potato should be avoided in the diet. Yet, this notion should be reconsidered in light of its nutritional quality, a more nuanced understanding of the epidemiologic data, emerging clinical evidence, and more comprehensive measures of carbohydrate food quality.