I can hear you now: Wait a minute Mel! My doctor told me to stay away from potatoes because they are bad for blood sugar. Now you're telling me they're actually good for blood sugar?

Well, sort of.

It depends on whether the cooked potato is eaten hot or cold. 

When a potato is cooked and then cooled, it forms a type of dietary starch called resistant starch–which means it passes through the stomach and small intestine undigested (i.e., it resists digestion) and therefore does not raise blood sugar or insulin levels after consumption.

What's more, several studies have shown that resistant starch may actually improve insulin sensitivity and lower blood sugar after meals.

Guess what that means? Potato salad is back on the menu baby! 

More great news is that resistant starch is considered a very powerful prebiotic food. Prebiotics serve as “fertilizer” for the beneficial bacteria in your gut.

This is important because the collection of more than 100 trillion microorganisms living in your body, called your microbiome, influences practically everything about you, including your:

• Blood sugar level
• Mood
• Immune system
• Sleep
• Digestion
• Body weight
• Food cravings

So if you want to enjoy good health, glowing lab results, and consistently balanced blood sugar, keeping the good bugs alive and growing in your body is critical. 

Other forms of resistant starch you may want to add to your meal plan are green (unripe) bananas, plantains, cooked and cooled parboiled rice, and beans and lentils that have been soaked, cooked, and cooled.

PS: Lest you think I'm giving you a license to eat a bucket of potato salad at your next family picnic, think again. You still have to be mindful of your portion my friend. A scoop of potato salad is no problem. A quart? Well, I think you intuitively know the answer to that. 😉 

PSS: If you're looking for a simple, delicious, colorful, vitamin-packed, low glycemic potato salad recipe, check out my Gut-Boosting Purple Potato Salad. 

Sources:

• _{Resistant starch from high-amylose maize increases insulin sensitivity in overweight and obese men}
• _{Insulin-sensitizing effects of dietary resistant starch and effects on skeletal muscle and adipose tissue metabolism}
• _{Colonic fermentation of indigestible carbohydrates contributes to the second-meal effect}