Australian scientists doubt US study that links potatoes to hypertension

Cardiovascular ailments are a leading cause of deaths globally, which has scientists searching for cures and treatments to hypertension and strokes. A new study by Brigham and Women’s Hospital links high blood pressure with eating potatoes.

The study, Higher Potato Consumption Associated with Increased Risk of Blood Pressure, was published on Tuesday at the BMJ. The research analysed three big longtitudinal studies in the US that followed 187,000 respondents for over two decades.

Live Science reports that the study found people who ate four or more servings of potatoes a week had 11 percent higher risk of high blood pressure in comparison to those who consumed one serving a month. By replacing one daily serving of potatoes – whether it is mashed, boiled or baked – with one serving of non-starchy veggies, there was a seven percent lower risk of hypertension.

However, Australian scientists questioned the US study. An accompanying editorial in the same BMJ issue, written by Aussie health experts, suggest that it would be better to study a person’s overall diet than just one food.

In questioning the finding, Dr Rachel Laws, research fellow at the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition of Deakin University in Melbourne, writes, “In women they found eating baked, boiled and mashed potatoes was linked to increased blood pressure, but not for men.” She notes that eating potato chips or crisps was not linked to hypertension and even registered a lower risk of high blood pressure for men.

Dr Rebecca Reynolds, nutritionist and lecturer from the University of New South Wales’s School of Public Health and Community Medicine, agrees with Laws that it is better to look at a person’s whole diet instead of labeling the potato as unhealthy. “I don’t think it is a good idea to tell people to avoid healthier ways of cooking potatoes. The benefits outweigh the negative. They provide nutrients and fibre,” quotes ABC.

Potatoes were recently included as a vegetable in school lunch programmes across the US.