New research suggests that high glycemic-index carbohydrates which many people are eating as replacement for the feared dietary fat, may raise the risk of diabetes, heart disease and obesity more than the consumption of fat.

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports in an analysis of data from several studies that researchers did not find any association between heart disease and amounts of saturated fat eaten by their subjects.

Meir Stampfer is a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. He co-authored a study in the New England Journal of Medicine that found that the low carb subjects had the healthiest ratio of HDL to LDL cholesterol even though they also ate the most saturated fat. They also lost twice the weight that the low fat subjects lost.

David Ludwig is the director of the obesity program at Children's Hospital Boston. “ 'If you reduce saturated fat and replace it with high glycemic-index carbohydrates, you may not only not get benefits—you might actually produce harm,' Ludwig argues. The next time you eat a piece of buttered toast, he says, consider that 'butter is actually the more healthful component.' ”

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=carbs-against-cardio