Gestational Diabetes Risk Increases From Pre-Pregnancy Potato Consumption

A new study has found a greater risk of gestational diabetes of women who eat more potatoes before pregnancy. The research suggests that would be better to replace potatoes with other legumes, vegetables, or whole grains in order to lower gestational diabetes risk.

Gestational diabetes causes high blood sugar levels in the mother and this is a common pregnancy complication. Future health problems can occur for both child and mother from this disorder, according to Science Daily.

The researchers from the Harvard University and U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) studied more a group of over 15,000 women between the years 1991 and 2001. The women had no gestational diabetes before pregnancy and had no history of illness.

The women filled out a questionnaire every four years, reporting on the kinds of foods they had consumed during the previous year. They were also asked if they had consumed any meals based on potatoes, such as potato chips, fries, boiled, baked or mashed potatoes.

The estimated reductions in the risks of gestational diabetes by replacing two servings of potatoes per week go as high as 12 percent for whole grain foods, 10 percent for legumes and 9 percent for other vegetables.

According to the research findings, a greater risk of gestational diabetes was observed in those women who consumed more potatoes. The results of the research were reported in The BMJ.

Previous studies have linked a high glycemic index and a higher risk of gestational diabetes type 2 with various foods. The glycemic index measures the ability of the body to raise blood sugar levels. The difference between older studies and the latest research is that until today was still unknown the effect of potatoes on the development of gestational diabetes.

However, the authors of the latest study cautioned that their research was not designed to prove cause and effect. For this reason, the results cannot be used for proving conclusively that potato consumption causes directly gestational diabetes.