Type 2 Diabetes and Mashed Potatoes - How To Make a Favorite Comfort Food More Diabetes-Friendly!

There is no single food that causes more difficulty controlling diabetes than mashed potatoes. Potatoes. A form of high glycemic carbohydrate is said to increase insulin resistance and the risk of type 2 diabetes. A favorite side dish of America's Thanksgiving Day, spuds of all kinds make blood sugar levels soar, but there are three things you can do to minimize, or even eliminate, damage.

1. Don't say no sooner: When nutrition researchers measured the glycemic index of instant mashed potatoes, they found that instant mashers made blood sugar levels rise faster than consuming glucose tablets. That seems a bit unlikely, so you consider what's in the potato right away.

There are all kinds of additives, flavors, and stabilizers designed to keep the pieces from crushing together in a box. When these chemicals enter your system, you have an immediate reaction.

Without getting into the chemical, this can be a "fast" allergic reaction or a slow immune reaction, but both cause your adrenal glands to release cortisol, which in turn causes blood sugar levels to rise. Just peeling potatoes, boiling them, and drying them, makes their effects on glucose control easier to manage. Instant has a glycemic index of about 110. The red deer boil has a glycemic index of about 78.

2. Don't eat those hot pipes: Another overlooked factor in choosing foods to keep your blood sugar levels as normal as possible is heat. Hot food ... although not hot hot food ... is digested faster than hot or room temperature foods. If you let your food cool before you eat it, your body will digest more slowly, and your pancreas will have more time to release the insulin needed to transport the digested sugar where they need to go. You can still make your blood sugar melt out of control by eating too many cold carb foods, but all else being the same, warm or cold foods is better for diabetics than for hot meals.

3. Try floral arrangements: If you cut the green leaves before boiling, the boiled cauliflower has the same color as the boiled spuds. If you put waterless walnuts in the water with cauliflower while boiling, the walnuts absorb the "cabbage" flavor and taste like potatoes. If you actually drain the cauliflower in a colander before melting, get every last bit of liquid out, then you have the same consistency as the spuds. But you will have 80 percent less carbohydrates.

------------------