Canada: Prince Edward Island potato board says hypertension study needs perspective

A new study linking potatoes and increased risk of high blood pressure is being viewed with caution by the P.E.I. potato board and a local nutritional scientist. The study, published by the BMJ (formerly known as the British Medical Journal), said people who eat four or more servings of baked, boiled or mashed potatoes a week had an 11 per cent higher risk of developing hypertension. That was compared to people who ate one serving or less a month. Researchers based at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School followed more than 187,000 American men and women for more than 20 years. Participants returned a questionnaire with updates on their health every two years, and another about their eating habits, including potato consumption, every four years. More