In much of the English-speaking world, mashed potatoes are a favorite comfort food. An accompaniment to meat dishes at family gatherings, they have been associated with love and belonging, and not without reason are eaten by soldiers and travelers away from home. But if you have type 2 diabetes, mashed potatoes can wreak havoc on your blood sugar control.

The first thing to know about this style of cooked potato is that not all potatoes are the same when it comes to their effects on blood sugar. Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes, for example, has a glycemic index of 110. In fact, they release glucose into the bloodstream faster than table sugar, which has a glycemic index of 100. The type 2 diabetic pancreas can barely support the glucose load released two, three or more servings of instant mashed potatoes.

However, peeling reddish red potatoes, steaming them, and mashing them results in a mashed potato that has a glycemic index of 86. And serving them cold rather than hot results in an even slower release of glucose into the bloodstream, with a glycemic index index of 58. Adding a drop or two of milk or butter to Red Russets lowers the glycemic index to 50.

Blood sugar levels rise less when mashed potatoes are made from scratch, when they have a little added fat, and when they are not eaten hot. Your body still has to create insulin to cover the release of sugars, but when mashed potatoes are homemade, it doesn’t have to find insulin as fast.

If you cook yourself … and every type 2 diabetic should … you can use other vegetables instead of potatoes to puree. Rutabagas, turnips, and cauliflower make a nice mash, with less than half the carbs of potatoes. If your cauliflower has a cabbage flavor, simply add a whole walnut to the cooking water while the vegetable is boiling. The cabbage smell penetrates the shell of the walnut. Just be sure to remove the walnut before grinding.

Another option for potatoes after boiling is to let them cool, dice them and turn them into potato salad. Adding vinegar will lower the glycemic index and, when ingested, it will be converted to glucose more slowly … thus giving a lower blood sugar and insulin response. Using new potatoes again helps with a lower glycemic index.