> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://the-sugar-question.ghost.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The fries scored lower than the baked potato - URL: https://the-sugar-question.ghost.io/the-fries-scored-lower-than-the-baked-potato/ - Published: 2026-10-12T17:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-12T16:59:59.000Z - Description: The potato on my doctor's safe list sent sugar into the blood faster than the fries did. - Author: The Sugar Question | I ordered plain fries.My doctor put fries at the top of my quit list, right above white bread. So I wore the monitor, ate a medium order with nothing else on the plate, and then went looking for the lab numbers to check my line against.The lab numbers were not what I expected. The lie they sold you ~~Fries are the worst potato you can eat~~ What the numbers show The plain potatoes score higher 63 Fries on the glycemic index, where pure glucose is 100 Plain potatoes Pure glucose Fries 111 100 78 63 58 Baked russet Pure glucose Boiled potato Fries, index tables Fries, on a monitor Published glycemic index scores (glucose = 100): International Tables of GI 2002 and 2008, and a North Carolina State glucose-monitor study These are published averages, not medical advice. Everyone's body responds differently. On the international index tables, a plain boiled potato averages 78 and fries average 63\. A baked russet, the kind the diet sheets call safe, scored 111 in one test.In other words, the potato with nothing added sent sugar into the blood faster than the one cooked in oil.My doctor never mentioned that the baked potato on my approved list scored higher than the fries.The oil is part of the reason. Fat slows how fast the starch in a fry breaks down into sugar.And the score holds up on a monitor. A North Carolina State team tested white potato fries with glucose monitors and finger pricks, got the same answer both ways, and landed on a score in the high fifties. πŸ₯” Baked russet 111 Glycemic index \-43% Lower score 🍟 French fries 63 Glycemic index But a lower score is not a free pass.A 2025 Harvard study in the BMJ followed more than 200,000 adults for decades. People who ate fries three times a week had about a 20% higher risk of type 2 diabetes, while baked, boiled and mashed potatoes showed no clear link.That study tracked habits rather than single meals, so it cannot prove the fries caused anything... but it tells me how often I order fries matters more than whether I order them.So I am keeping the fries. What changes is how I order them. Your mission this week Keep the fries, change the order Costs you one shake of the bottle 1 Shake on the malt vinegar The old chip shop habit. Vinegar with a bread meal lowered the glucose rise in a small Lund University study, and it may help with a starchy side like fries. 2 Order the side, not the basket The index tells you how fast. The portion tells you how much. A side order keeps the starch load smaller without taking the fries away. 3 Make fries a night you look forward to The Harvard link showed up at three servings a week. How often matters as much as which potato you pick. Your first win One order of fries this week, vinegar on top, and no apology to anyone. πŸ”¬ **Where this comes from:** The boiled potato (78) and fries (63) averages come from the International Tables of Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load (Atkinson and colleagues, Diabetes Care, 2008). The baked russet score of 111 is a single test in the 2002 edition of the same tables. The high-fifties fries score comes from a North Carolina State study that measured potato and sweet potato products with glucose monitors and finger pricks. Fries are not one fixed number: the University of Sydney GI database lists one fries test at 75, so treat the scores as a range. The diabetes link is from Mousavi and colleagues, BMJ, 2025, using three long-running Harvard cohorts of about 205,000 adults; it is observational and cannot show cause. The vinegar finding is Γ–stman and colleagues, European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2005, in twelve healthy adults eating white bread, not fries. A splash of vinegar may reduce the rise rather than promise it. And if you manage your blood sugar with medication, talk any change through with your doctor. The fries were never the worst potato.How often you order them is what counts. I still order the medium fries, and now I ask for the vinegar. Hot take A side of fries is a better pick than a plain baked potato [πŸ‘ Agree, bring the fries](mailto:contact@thesugarquestion.com?subject=Hot%20take%3A%20fries%20vs%20the%20baked%20potato&body=I%20agree.%20Bring%20the%20fries%20because%20) [πŸ‘Ž Disagree, the baked potato stays](mailto:contact@thesugarquestion.com?subject=Hot%20take%3A%20fries%20vs%20the%20baked%20potato&body=I%20disagree.%20The%20baked%20potato%20stays%20because%20) Tap one and tell me why. Nobody asked me which potato I wanted, so I am asking you. Welcome to the revolution Jackie | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |