Potatoes has long been relegated to the less healthy tier of vegetables by some dieticians. However, a substantial new investigation, monitoring the dietary habits of 77,000 Norwegians over four decades, tells a different story.
Researchers at the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences at the University of Oslo, found in their study that individuals consuming at least two potatoes daily during the 1970s and 1980s exhibited a 12% lower mortality rate in the subsequent 40 years. Intriguingly, this rate parallels the reduced mortality associated with high vegetable consumption.
The comprehensive analysis revealed that consistent potato consumption was linked to a notable reduction in mortality risk, particularly from heart disease, with every additional 100 grams of potato intake per day lowering mortality risks by 4%. This correlation held across different genders, body mass indexes, and lifestyle habits like smoking and physical activity.
Potatoes are in fact a significant source of vitamin C and potassium, nutrients essential for heart health. Despite potatoes not making the cut in Norway’s ‘5-a-day’ dietary recommendations, their consumption was a staple in nearly every traditional Norwegian dinner.
The authors also made note of that which differentiates between the health impacts of simple, boiled potatoes and those of processed variants like French fries and mashed potatoes, which have been implicated in previous studies as increasing disease risk. In other words, a whole food, unprocessed consumption is healthy while fried and processed potato products are not.
Through this large-scale, longitudinal study, the humble potato emerges not just as a staple food but potentially as a contributor to longevity and heart health, challenging preconceived notions and encouraging a fresh look at its dietary value.
The study reminds us that unprocessed, whole plant-based foods in general is healthy and should remain the main course of every meal.
The study was published in The Journal of Nutrition.
EK Arensen et al. Potato Consumption and All-Cause and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality – A Long-Term Follow-Up of a Norwegian Cohort. The Journal of Nutrition (2024). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.05.011
