Why sugary carbs might hurt your heart
Dietary Glycemic Index, Glycemic Load, and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease, Stroke, and Stroke Mortality: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Glycemic index showed no significant link to stroke risk, even though it’s heavily marketed as a heart-health tool.
Most diet books and apps focus on low-GI foods as the key to preventing stroke—but this massive study of 2,123 stroke cases found no connection.
Practical Takeaways
Swap refined carbs (white bread, pasta, sugary cereal) for high-fiber, low-GL alternatives like steel-cut oats, legumes, and non-starchy vegetables.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Glycemic index showed no significant link to stroke risk, even though it’s heavily marketed as a heart-health tool.
Most diet books and apps focus on low-GI foods as the key to preventing stroke—but this massive study of 2,123 stroke cases found no connection.
Practical Takeaways
Swap refined carbs (white bread, pasta, sugary cereal) for high-fiber, low-GL alternatives like steel-cut oats, legumes, and non-starchy vegetables.
Publication
Journal
PLoS ONE
Year
2012
Authors
Jingyao Fan, Yiqing Song, Yuyao Wang, R. Hui, Weili Zhang
Related Content
Claims (10)
Eating foods that spike your blood sugar quickly may double your chance of getting heart disease, even if you don’t have other risk factors like high blood pressure or smoking.
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.
If you're overweight or obese, eating a lot of sugary or starchy foods might raise your chance of heart disease by almost half—but if you're a normal weight, those foods don’t seem to make a difference. Your weight changes how those foods affect your heart.
Eating lots of foods that quickly turn into sugar—like white bread or sugary snacks—might raise your chance of getting heart disease, and the more of these foods you eat, the higher your risk goes.
Eating lots of sugary and starchy foods seems to raise the risk of heart disease much more for women than for men, which might mean men and women’s bodies react differently to these foods.