New study shows 2 Härdöpfel per day demonstrably reduce your risk of death

A new study on the subject of Härdöpfel shows: Daily consumption of two potatoes lowers the risk of mortality by 12 percent.

Keystone-SDA

25.08.2024, 23:39

26.08.2024, 11:21

SDA

In contrast to various vegetables, potatoes were not previously considered particularly healthy. But that could now change. People who eat at least two a day are twelve percent less likely to die.

This was discovered by Norwegian scientists in a study involving 77,000 test subjects and spanning four decades.

In the past, the potato was an integral part of a mostly meat-free diet in many European countries. Interestingly, however, it was not included in the "five-a-day" recommendation, which includes various types of fruit and vegetables, explains Erik Arnesen from the Institute of Basic Medical Research at the University of Oslo.

The scientist and his team have published a long-term study in the "Journal of Nutrition" with 77,000 Norwegians as test subjects over a period of 40 years. "People who ate at least two potatoes a day in the 1970s and 1980s showed a twelve percent lower overall mortality rate in the following four decades. This lower mortality rate is similar to what we see in people with a high vegetable intake," says Arnesen.

In the past, potatoes were the basis of the diet in many regions for a long time. In Norway, for example, 90 percent of all fish and 80 percent of all meat meals in the 1980s were accompanied by potatoes. In contrast to the trends of the recent past, however, these were mainly boiled potatoes, not chips and mashed potatoes, which are high in fat.

Mortality risk reduced

The scientists analyzed the figures from the nationwide dietary surveys between 1974 and 1988 and compared them with the mortality data 40 years later. The trend: for every hundred grams of potatoes per day, the mortality risk was reduced by four percent. This also applied to heart disease.

According to the scientists, potatoes are particularly healthy because they are a source of vitamin C and potassium and are rich in fiber. Studies that have shown an increased risk of type 2 diabetes with frequent consumption of potatoes have also included French fries and mashed potatoes, the Norwegian experts emphasized.