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What is so wrong with Mashed Potato ???

S

saintdavo

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I keep reading that boiled potato, new potato and jacket potato is ok in moderation but mashed potato seems to be a big no and i would like someone to explain why this is so ? After all mashed potato is just boiled potato with a bit of milk and butter right ???
 
The more you break a food down, the easier and quicker your body can process the carbs from ot so you get a "spike" in BG levels. Similarly, if you ate and orange, you would not get such a large rise in levels as if you'd juiced it. So, all carbs in moderation and the way they are processed affect how your body reacts.


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New potato is ok for me as a small portion but jacket potato spikes me the same way as mashed does probably a more starchy type but could be the length of time cooked to release the starch ?
CAROL
 
What 'Paul-1976' says is quite right. the more processed the Potato is, the easier the human body can break the strch structure down within the gut and hence give rise to rapid increases in B/G levels. For this reason the instant mashed potato should be restricted or avoided if possible. Adding Fat in the form of butter to the potato will help slow down the bodies metabolisim of the potato.
It's all very confusing, but it might help if you can search the web for the GL ratings of Potatoes, and please don't be too surprised with what you find. Different types of Potato, different cooking methods, cooking times and preperation can give a wide spread in GL readings.
The High GL loading of the Potato can be lowered considerably by combining this with a vegetable having a low GL rating so that the overal effect of the meal can be leveled out.
 
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thanks for your replies. I have already cut down on this food type but as a self confessed mash lover i think i need to do my own little experiment to see how it actually affects me...watch this space for results :)
 
Heat, liquid and mashing are part of a process called saccharification, releasing the sugars in starches. The enzyme which normally does this exists in saliva which is released whilst chewing to kick start the process before it slips down into the stomache. By mashing, you've already given it a head start, so the impact is swifter. If you ever make alcohol, you always start with a mash.
 
A small portion of roast potatoes works for me but mashed is a definite no-no.
 
You could try celeriac and swede mash not quite like mashed spuds but with butter and pepper it is very good
CAROL
 
Yorksman said:
Heat, liquid and mashing are part of a process called saccharification, releasing the sugars in starches. The enzyme which normally does this exists in saliva which is released whilst chewing to kick start the process before it slips down into the stomache. By mashing, you've already given it a head start, so the impact is swifter. If you ever make alcohol, you always start with a mash.
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Good explanation by Yorksman.
 
I'm glad someone asked this as I wondered as well
 
douglas99 said:
Cold potato is even better apparently.
Resistant starch is formed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resistant_starch

So, cold roast potatoes anyone?
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Works better with pasta.

Retrograding starch is a neat thing with pasta you can effectively reduce its starch by up to a third. Potatoes are harder and I'd guess plain boiled new potatoes would still beat retrograded mashed. There's a thread on another forum where some diabetics tested out retrograding you can find it quite easily on Google. From memory the best they could get from potatoes was roughly a 10% drop.

I find you can also get a small starch reduction in Burgen bread by freezing it then having it as toast.

I'd still rather have a small amount of hot roast potatoes, roasted in Goose fat with sprinkled Parmesan and rock salt so they're extra cheesy and crispy than cold mashed retrograded spuds every time but if that rocks your boat go for it ...

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Used to have the cold left over potatoes in a salad.
 
douglas99 said:
Used to have the cold left over potatoes in a salad.
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You still can just don't eat too many of them and maybe reduce their effective GI with some full fat salad cream if you want to.
 
I just don't get this. To me a potato is a potato is a potato ...

How would the starches (carbohydrates) in potatoes become different by the preparation method?

Please enlighten me. I may be too dense here. Potatoes (which I love) will raise my bg in a big way ... - but I would love to have them ...

annelise (Denmark)
 
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