Australian experts question US study linking potatoes to hypertension

Most of us know that hot chips and potato chips are bad for us, but experts now say eating too much potato in any form can be harmful to your health. A major US study has linked potato eating to an increased risk of hypertension or high blood pressure. But Australian medical experts aren’t quite ready to take the humble spud off the menu. Dr Rachel Laws from Deakin University’s Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition wrote an editorial to accompany the study. According to her, “We just wanted to put an opinion out there about the findings of the study and to indicate that we think an overall pattern of eating is far more important to focus on, than looking at individual foods such as the consumption of potatoes. …The findings in the study were far from clear-cut.” More