Clinically, I’ve seen consistent improvements in heart disease markers when implementing a low glycemic diet. The glycemic index is an indicator of how high the carbohydrate portion of a food causes blood sugar to rise-this is especially important for diabetic patients, but is also useful when trying to limit the effect of carbohydrates on the body. A new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that eating lots of high-glycemic-index foods puts women at higher risk of developing heart disease. Some highlights from the study are as follows:
• Only high-glycemic-index carbohydrates were associated with heart disease risk; low-glycemic-index carbohydrates were not.
• Having a high dietary glycemic load more than doubled the risk of heart disease in women.
• No relationship between heart disease and carbohydrate intake, high-glycemic index food consumption, or dietary glycemic load was seen in men.
