Fries have had their chips if you aim to cut risk of diabetes

..but mash and jacket potatoes are fine!

- By Ella Pickover

EATING three portions of chips a week raises the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes but not baked, boiled or mashed potatoes.

An international team, which included a Cambridge University expert, probed links between eating potatoes and diabetes.

They looked at studies tracking more than 205,000 health workers in the US and repeated surveys about diets over nearly 40 years.

During followup periods, 22,000 Type 2 cases were documented, but overall there was no link to mashed, baked or boiled potatoes.

However, those who ate at least three weekly servings of highly processed French fries had a 20% increased risk of the condition.

And people who ate them five times a week appeared to have a 27% increased risk, the study said.