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Husband lost a ton of weight eating potatoes, but when I started testing his BG I realized they were spiking him up to 200. I've recently been able to start buying organic potatoes, and was struck by how delicious they are, they taste so much better than the big old baking potatoes I was buying. So yesterday I had the idea of trying a potato test at lunch using the organic potatoes, which were a fairly small size. I made a delicious kind of potato stew with broad beans, lemon and garlic, it was so good I'm going to post it in the food and recipes section. Husband had a large plate and enjoyed it, but was worrying that it was going to spike him.

One hour pp: 135!!!!!!!
One hour 30: 125
Two hours: 110

Success!!!!! I'm wondering if it's also due to the fact that I didn't overcook the potatoes, they were slightly firm not mushy. Can't wait to try some more variations, and I'm really delighted to get potatoes back on his menu.

They were probably a waxy potato variety rather than a baking potato. I think someone suggested something like the red-skinned potatoes for your husband before. The texture of those would be more waxy. They stay firmer when cooked. This site shows a few potato varieties.
http://www.ripeorganics.com.au/wholefoo ... g/potatoes
Potato differences explained in these:
http://www.cinacia.com/faq.html
http://www.ochef.com/167.htm

There could be several factors involved in your husband's reading. The potato type, the cooking method, the other items in the stew or eaten with the stew--all those are factors. I would also think that your husband's increasing well-being and improved health are also factors in how his body processes foods. He's like a machine with a re-built engine. Congratulations. You're a good mechanic.

Thanks Agnes

I did try red potatoes and they didn't work, but that was a couple of months ago. Maybe it's time for a re-test.

I just posted the recipe, it's delicious, viewtopic.php?f=5&t=29022

That is great news and yes, as he gets leaner/healthier and his insulin resistance vanishes he will have a flatter and shorter blood sugar response to even those monster Russest potatoes most likely. Also true though, that the less hybridized, closer to heirloom potatoes will likely have less of a glycemic effect any time. Taste better to me as well!

I'd imagine there are more than one type of red potato. Perhaps the one you tried before was a starchier variety rather than a waxy variety. (Actually, I think they're all "starchy"...it's just which type of starch. Apparently the one kind of starch can bother blood sugar in some folks.)

Thanks for sharing your recipe, too.

The same thing happened to my husband and it turned out to be the incredible weight loss and better health in all aspects. He got off all meds. Now no matter what kind of potato he eats he gets a good reading for glucose.

Thanks for posting that, you've made my day.

nordgirl, since your hubby seems quite happy to do experiments, maybe he would like cold baked potatoes and you could let us know whether this is true: that cold potatoes cause a smaller rise in blood sugar.

from:
http://www.diabetescare.net/forum/hcs_b ... .asp?id=72

The good news - cold potatoes have a much lesser effect on your post prandial blood sugar. When potatoes are cooked, the starch granules absorb water. This is called gelatinization and tends to change the structure of the starch, making it more susceptible to the digestive enzymes. When the cooked potato starch is cooled, the molecules bond in an irregular fashion, making it more difficult to be hydrolyzed by enzymes. Repeating the cooking-cooling cycle will continue to result in a more resistant starch. The more resistant a starch is, the longer it will take the body to break it down, digest, and absorb it.

And, the type of potato may make a slight difference, also. A boiled red potato (hot) has a higher GI than a baked Russet potato or a roasted California white potato. When the red potato is cooled, its GI index falls 40 percent!

I read about the resistant starch in cold potatoes some time ago. So I usually boil a few small red potatoes and keep them in the refrigerator as a snack. Love to eat them dipped in lots of mustard. Yes they don't cause spikes that way.

here is a video from the vegsource 2006 healthy living expo in which Dr.s McDougall, Fuhrman and Martin Mills discuss starches in general and potatoes in particular. You make up your mind. Perhaps it will explain Nordgirl's success with the organic potatoes. Don't forget. Eating potatoes might not affect non diabetics in the same way as diabetics. But I am going to look for some organic potatoes.

http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/panel06.htm

Didi