Even though Chinese adults eat a lot of white rice and other sugary carbs, their risk of heart disease doesn’t seem to go up just because of how fast those carbs raise blood sugar—what matters more is how much of those carbs they eat overall.

People in China who eat a lot of carbs that spike their blood sugar quickly are much more likely to develop heart disease compared to those who eat fewer of these carbs.

People in China who eat a lot of white rice and other refined wheat foods like white bread may be almost three times more likely to develop heart disease as they get older, compared to those who eat much less of these foods.

People in China who eat a lot of white rice and white bread have an 80% higher chance of getting heart disease compared to those who eat much less of these foods.

Eating a lot of foods that spike your blood sugar quickly may raise your chance of getting heart disease—even if you’re otherwise healthy or don’t smoke or have high blood pressure.

Eating foods that spike your blood sugar quickly might slightly raise your risk of heart disease, but it doesn’t seem to affect stroke risk at all—so it might not be the main culprit, and something else like overall sugar intake could be more important.