French Fries Linked to Diabetes, But Other Potatoes Safe

French fries may finally be catching the blame they deserve, while other potato dishes are getting a health clearance.

A massive study tracking more than 205,000 people for nearly 40 years found that eating three servings of french fries per week increased the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 20%. The surprise? Baked, boiled, or mashed potatoes showed no significant increase in diabetes risk at the same consumption level.

The research, published in The BMJ, examined health professionals in the U.S. between 1984 and 2021. Participants completed detailed dietary questionnaires every four years, allowing scientists to track how different foods affected their health over time.

During the study period, 22,299 participants developed type 2 diabetes. Researchers discovered that overall potato consumption was linked to just a 5% increase in diabetes rates, but french fries drove most of that risk.

The cooking method appears to make all the difference. French fries are typically fried in oil and served with salt, adding extra calories, unhealthy fats, and sodium. Other preparation methods preserve the nutritional benefits of potatoes, including fiber, vitamin C, and magnesium, without the harmful additions.

The Bright Side

What you eat instead of potatoes matters just as much as how you cook them. Replacing three weekly servings of potatoes with whole grains lowered diabetes risk by 8%. When people swapped french fries specifically for whole grains, they saw a 19% reduction in diabetes rates.

Even better news: baked, boiled, and mashed potatoes can fit comfortably into a healthy diet. Researchers emphasized in an accompanying editorial that potatoes provide solid nutrition and have a relatively low environmental impact compared to many other foods.

The study does show one swap to avoid. Replacing potatoes with white rice actually increased diabetes risk, suggesting that not all carbohydrate substitutions offer health benefits.

While this observational study can't prove that french fries directly cause diabetes, the connection remained strong even after researchers accounted for lifestyle factors and other dietary habits. The findings align with current recommendations to prioritize whole grains and prepare foods using healthier cooking methods.

Potatoes themselves aren't the villain, and you don't need to eliminate them from your diet to protect your health.