What you eat matters more than how much fat or carbs you eat
Effects of dietary fats versus carbohydrates on coronary heart disease: A review of the evidence
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Eating lots of white bread and sugary snacks instead of fats doesn't help your heart—and might hurt it, especially if you're older, overweight, or not active. But eating whole grains, fish, nuts, and avoiding junk food helps your heart stay healthy.
Surprising Findings
Replacing saturated fat with refined carbs offers no heart benefit—and may increase risk.
For 40 years, public health guidelines told people to swap butter for cereal and low-fat yogurt. This study says that advice may have made heart disease worse for many.
Practical Takeaways
Swap white bread, pasta, and pastries for whole grains (oats, brown rice, quinoa) and add 2 servings of fatty fish (salmon, sardines) per week.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Eating lots of white bread and sugary snacks instead of fats doesn't help your heart—and might hurt it, especially if you're older, overweight, or not active. But eating whole grains, fish, nuts, and avoiding junk food helps your heart stay healthy.
Surprising Findings
Replacing saturated fat with refined carbs offers no heart benefit—and may increase risk.
For 40 years, public health guidelines told people to swap butter for cereal and low-fat yogurt. This study says that advice may have made heart disease worse for many.
Practical Takeaways
Swap white bread, pasta, and pastries for whole grains (oats, brown rice, quinoa) and add 2 servings of fatty fish (salmon, sardines) per week.
Publication
Related Content
Claims (10)
Eating more plants, whole grains, and healthy fats can lower your risk of heart disease by about 13 to 15%, no matter if you're cutting carbs or cutting fat.
Eating more whole grains like oats and brown rice instead of white bread and pastries may help lower your risk of heart disease because they help keep your cholesterol and inflammation in check.
Eating foods with trans fats—like packaged snacks, baked goods, and fast food—may raise your risk of heart disease because they can cause body-wide inflammation and mess up your cholesterol levels.
People who are older, women, don’t move much, or are overweight might be more likely to have bad health effects from eating lots of white bread, sugar, and pastries — and that could mean a higher chance of heart disease than for healthier people.
People who eat more whole grains like oats and brown rice, and fewer white breads and sugary snacks, tend to have less heart disease — and this pattern has been seen in many different groups of people.