January 2022 - 40

Spearheading the quest to define 'quality carbohydrate'
It should come
POTATOES USA
John Toaspern
Chief Marketing
Officer
as no surprise that
Americans still have
a " carbohydrate
confusion " problem.
This confusion
plays out on a
consumer level with
the popularity of
such diets as Keto
and Paleo and the
general desire to
" cut carbs. " These
confusions often
stem from communications around flawed
research and an overgeneralization of
study findings that often keeps potatoes
in the crosshairs of carbohydrate
mischaracterizations, specifically:
1. Potatoes are not grouped with
vegetables in observational studies.
Rather, they are often put into groups with
refined sugar, sugar-sweetened beverages,
processed meat, etc.
2. There is an overreliance on
Glycemic Index (GI) as a marker for
carbohydrate quality. Yet, newer research
calls into question GI's utility and validity.
Potatoes USA is involved in efforts to
change this, starting with the funding of the
Alliance for Potato Research and Education
(APRE). More recently, Potatoes USA has
taken a proactive approach to push back on
the flawed science and misinterpretation of
findings through two specific initiatives:
* Advancing science-based communications
that reinforce the role of potatoes as a
nutrient-dense vegetable.
* Supporting efforts that take a novel
approach to define quality carbohydratecontaining
foods.
APRE IS BUILDING THE
PROOF TO SUPPORT POSITIVE
POTATO MESSAGES
For the past five years, APRE has been
funding potato nutrition studies to react to
potato mischaracterizations and identify
new reasons to believe in the health
benefits of eating potatoes. APRE is building
a scientific foundation that identifies how
potato consumption can help support
healthy lifestyles and reduce disease risk.
APRE has invested more than $4.5 million
in research, resulting in 40 funded studies
and 17 publications, to date. Collectively,
this research is important for the entire
industry as it helps to solidify potatoes
as a nutrient-dense vegetable and quality
carbohydrate-containing food.
POTATOES USA IS SUPPORTING
RIGOR AND INTEGRITY IN
NUTRITION SCIENCE
The Potatoes USA team is proactively
engaging with the scientific community to
ensure that nutrition research is being fairly
and consistently analyzed. One forthcoming
Potatoes USA funded study is being led by
David Allison, Ph.D, Indiana University -
Bloomington, Co-chair of the National
Academies of Science, Engineering and
Medicine Strategic Council for Research
Excellence, Integrity, and Trust. Through
this instrumental research, to be concluded
in 2022, Dr. Allison will take a published
study that grouped potatoes in the 'less
healthy' category, resulting in findings that
linked potato consumption to increased
risk for heart disease and diabetes, and
reclassify potatoes into the 'more healthy'
category then rerun the data. This allows
two scenarios to be investigated: a 'healthy'
pattern with potatoes, and a 'less healthy'
pattern without potatoes.
THE ENTIRE 'CARBOHYDRATE
AGRICULTURAL WORLD' IS
SUPPORTING EFFORTS FOR A
DEFINITION
To prompt new thinking surrounding
carbohydrate quality, Potatoes USA
spearheaded the Quality Carbohydrate
Coalition (QCC). The QCC is made up of
organizations representing all carbohydratecontaining
foods across the food supply
- including fruits and vegetables, beans,
pulses, lentils and peas, pasta, grains and
rice - who have come together to support
a path forward that better defines 'quality
carbohydrate-containing foods.'
The actual science behind the algorithm
" Quality as High as our Mountains "
ColoradoCertifiedPotatoGrowers.com
Lorem ipsumLyla@ColoradoCertifiedPotatoGrowers.com
Office: (719) 274-5996
ColoradoCertifiedPotatoGrowers.com
Colorado Certified Potato Growers Association
P. O. Box 267
Monte Vista, CO 81144
development (which will be used to define
quality carbohydrate-containing foods)
is being led by an independent Scientific
Advisory Council (SAC), which includes
six world-renowned health and nutrition
scientists. During the initial conversations,
the SAC agreed that whatever approach is
taken, GI needs to be omitted as a marker
for carbohydrate quality. The SAC plans
to complete three manuscripts to support
these efforts:
* Manuscript 1 sets the stage for this
undertaking and provides rationale
around omitting GI from the discussion.
This is now published in Nutrients.
* Manuscript 2 will reveal the approach
to, and components of the algorithm.
See PUSA, page 39
38
Spudman.com
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January 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2022
