Source: pinkvilla.com
High blood pressure is one of the common ailments that people across the world suffer from. Hypertension is also known as a silent killer as the symptoms of the disorder is easily missed. That’s why the advice of regularly checking blood pressure is given. For the unversed, the ailment is one of the leading causes of death as hypertension, if left untreated, can lead to heart issues, brain, kidney and eye-related disorders and stroke among others.
The causes could be genetics, poor lifestyle and heavy smoking and drinking among others. Also, the risk of hypertension is more among the following: people over the age of 65, people who are obese, who eat salted and junk food moreover fruits and vegetables, those who hardly exercise and have poor sleep among others.
One of the common advice that doctors give is to increase the intake of potassium-rich foods such as tomato juice, orange juice, bananas, spinach, almonds, eggs, mushrooms and sweet potatoes among others. While sweet potatoes are nutrient-dense and helpful for high BP patients, white potatoes when consumed more can lead to a hike of BP level.
Potatoes, undoubtedly, are one of the commonly consumed foods and now we have learned that high and long term intake of this vegetable in the form either baked, fried, boiled or mashed can adversely affect high BP. The study was conducted on 187,000 men and women for three research for more than 20 years and one of them was potato’s impact on BP.
As per a study which was published in The BMJ, higher intake of potatoes is associated with increased risk of developing and increasing the levels of blood pressure among men and women.
The researchers added that when one serving of potatoes replaced with a non-starchy vegetable, the level of BP will be better and normal. The researchers also said that potatoes have a high glycemic index compared to other veggies and the same leads to a sharp rise in blood sugar levels as well.
An excerpt from the report read, “(Our findings) have potentially important public health ramifications, as they do not support a potential benefit from the inclusion of potatoes as vegetables in government food programs but instead support a harmful effect that is consistent with adverse effects of high carbohydrate intakes seen in controlled feeding studies”.