Heart Patient Diet Plan - Are Carbs As Bad As Fats For the Heart?

Just as not all fats are bad (i.e. some are actually beneficial for the heart and cardiovascular system) the same is true of carbohydrates. Nutrition experts say it's time to take a closer look at refined carbohydrates and their link to heart disease and diabetes. For decades, fat has been portrayed as the ultimate evil in a healthy diet, but this is changing as more is discovered about the damaging effects of refined carbohydrates and sugar.

Dr. Walter Willett, department chair of the nutrition department at the Harvard School of Public Health, points his finger directly at sweetened drinks, white flour and rice, and snacks that are high in sugar. He and other top nutrition experts blame these along with other refined carbohydrate products on the increase in heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and obesity.

The American diet is rich in carbohydrates, averaging over half of our caloric intake. As Americans have attempted to cut saturated fats from their diets, they seem to have turned to replacing foods high in fats with those high in refined carbohydrates and sugar. Despite the lower consumption of fats, the incidence of heart disease and diabetes has continued to rise, so maybe fat isn't the sole culprit.

The glycemic index is an indicator of how quickly a carbohydrate is converted in the body to blood sugar. Generally, the refined carbohydrates are the highest on the glycemic index, indicating a quick spike in blood sugar. When blood sugar is high, insulin is released by the pancreas, converting the blood sugar into stored glycogen for later use as fuel. Because refined carbohydrates are relatively recent inventions, the human body is not equipped to continuously cope with these steep spikes in blood sugar. Eventually, problems arise including heart disease and Type 2 diabetes as a result of developing insulin resistance.

Early indicators of a problem include high blood pressure, waistline obesity, and high triglycerides. Patients showing these problems were tested for the effects of both a low carb, high fat diet and a high carb, low fat diet. It was the group eating the low carb diet that showed the most change in triglyceride levels with a 50% drop and an increase in good cholesterol, even though the diet was high in saturated fat. This surprised many.

So what can be done to prevent heart disease and obesity in today's world of refined and over-processed foods? Some nutritionists look to man's evolutionary history, pointing out that the refined foods most of us consume are a very recent invention. Our bodies simply aren't made to eat this way, and with a prolonged pattern of eating processed and refined foods the body can't cope, and our natural processes break down resulting in chronic disease.

Eating a diet high in fresh fruits and vegetables is the best start. Avoid white breads, pasta, and rice. The most nutrient rich parts have been removed and the refined carbohydrates are quickly converted to blood sugar. A heart-healthy diet resembles something eaten by your distant ancestors; unprocessed, whole foods.

Monique Hawkins is an enthusiastic advocate for the use of safe and effective high quality, natural, alternative health products to treat and prevent heart disease. To learn about how to prevent and treat heart disease naturally, visit her blog for weekly tips at moniquerhawkins.com heart patient diet plan