Processed Carbs Bode Ill for the Heart
Experts don't urge avoidance, but rather healthier choices
 (HealthDay News) -- Eating a lot of processed carbohydrates such as white bread and baked goods, already problematic for women watching their weight, apparently are bad for the heart as well.
Because very processed foods are absorbed by the body quickly, they raise blood sugar rapidly. Such foods rank high on nutrition experts' glycemic index, which rates carbohydrate-containing foods based on their effect on blood glucose, or sugar, levels. Such foods cause insulin levels to spike and then plummet, not considered ideal for good health.
In a nine-year study of about 16,000 women, "women consuming the highest glycemic load diets had an about 1.5 times higher risk of cardiovascular disease than those consuming the lowest glycemic load diets," researcher Joline Beulens of the University Medical Center Utrecht, in the Netherlands , told HealthDay . "Looking only among overweight women, we found that overweight women consuming the highest glycemic load diets had an about 1.8 times higher risk than overweight women consuming the lowest glycemic load diets."
During the nearly decade-long study, 556 of the women developed heart disease and 243 had a stroke. After adjusting for other risk factors, such as excessive weight, the researchers found that a high-glycemic-index diet was associated with heart disease and stroke.
"A high-glycemic-load diet increases LDL, the bad cholesterol, and triglycerides and may lower the good, HDL cholesterol," Beulens explained.
"The study shows that it is important to choose the right carbohydrate product in your diet," she said. "For example, choose whole-grain bread instead of white or whole meal. Choose porridge or muesli instead of cornflakes."
But, experts emphasize that the study's findings do not mean that women should trade carbohydrates for protein. High-protein diets have health risks as well, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some cancers, according to the American Heart Association.
Instead, the association recommends a diet high in healthy carbohydrates -- foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole-wheat grains -- and nonfat dairy products because these foods have been shown to lower blood pressure. Many are also high in fiber, which helps reduce cholesterol.
The study, which was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology , also showed that worrying only about lowering saturated fats in the diet is too simplistic a view, according to Dr. Frank B. Hu, a Harvard School of Public Health researcher who wrote an editorial on the findings that was published along with the study.
Reducing dietary glycemic load "should be made a top public health concern," Hu wrote.
On the Web
To learn more about healthy carbohydrates, check out information from the Harvard School of Public Health.
SOURCES:
HealthDay News ; Joline Beulens, Ph.D., researcher, Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands; July 3, 2007, Journal of the American College of Cardiology ; American Heart Association (www.americanheart.org)
Author:
Serena Gordon
Publication Date:
June 30, 2008
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