High Glycemic Foods Increases Heart Risk

By Dr. Carrie Jones Expert HERWriter

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Who doesn’t love ice cream, bagels, and white rice? An English muffin, a side of toast, or maybe chocolate chip cookies makes everyone smile. The problem? This high glycemic food is greatly increasing your risk for heart disease.

A new article published in the April Archives of Internal Medicine found that of their 48,000 adults, the women who ate the most carbohydrates overall had double the risk of heart disease. More specifically, the higher glycemic foods were strongly linked to coronary heart disease – which are to the vessels that supply blood to the heart itself.

High glycemic foods are also implemented in pre-diabetes and diabetes, high triglycerides, and metabolic syndrome. This, of course, is not good for your health or your waist line.

Take control of your diet and choose whole grains. Skip the pasties, donuts, and unhealthy breakfast options for 100 percent whole wheat toast. Choose brown rice with your lunch or opt for other whole grains such as quinoa or couscous. Consider lowering your carbohydrate intake all together increase your vegetable intake. Make turkey and cheese roll-ups on a piece of lettuce. Pile your left overs on spinach instead of rice.

Low glycemic foods are often higher in fiber and nutritional value plus they usually take longer to digest which means they don’t convert into sugar right away.

When looking at a glycemic chart, high foods come with a rating higher than 70, intermediate foods have a rating between 50 to 70 and low glycemic index foods are under 50. Ideas for low glycemic are vegetables such as artichoke, asparagus, avocado, cauliflower, celery, eggplant, green beans and spinach. Good fruit choices are peaches, apples, pears, grapes and oranges. Carbohydrates such as lentils, multi-grain bread, All-Bran, oatmeal (plain), barley, rye and brown rice.

Take a look at your diet this week and really evaluate what you are eating then remember to opt for whole-grain or low-carbohydrate options.

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We value and respect our HERWriters' experiences, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice, although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.