Do cereal and bread cause heart disease?
We talked a little bit the other day about the truth about cholesterol and why most people have been misinformed about "reducing their cholesterol" when in fact, total cholesterol has almost nothing to with heart disease risk.
But we also need to talk about another related topic that is equally important...
Most people over the years have been misinformed by the media that dietary fats are the cause of heart disease. In recent years, scientists have become quite clear that this is not the case. Sure, artificial trans fats are a big cause of heart disease, but not necessarily healthy natural fats from unprocessed foods (except in the case of excess omega-6 fats compared to omega-3 fats).
But here's another cause of heart disease that most people aren't aware of...
First, remember that LDLs can be broken down into big puffy LDLs (type A, which don't contribute to plaque in the arteries) and small dense LDLs (type B) which do contribute to plaque in the arteries.
Now this is where it gets interesting... High insulin levels from a high carbohydrate intake over time cause your body to produce higher levels of nasty small/dense LDL particles in your blood (type B LDL particles), which are known to be atherogenic (causes plaque in your arteries).
Yes, that's right... a chronically high carb intake can actually be one of the causes of heart disease.
What does the government recommend... a high carbohydrate diet. Doesn't make much sense does it? Is their recommendation biased to support big business? I'll let you decide on that.
Now another thing to keep in mind are your triglyceride levels. Higher triglyceride levels in your blood are another risk factor for heart disease. According to well-known nutrition author Rob Wolf , "Triglycerides are a measure of circulating blood fats, so you would think a high-fat diet would mean high triglycerides, right? Interestingly, this is not the case. Triglycerides are in fact an indicator of high dietary carbohydrate and insulin sensitivity. High carbs and poor insulin sensitivity = high triglycerides."
Once again, everything you've been told over the years about eating a high-carb diet being healthy, is not quite accurate. Eating moderately higher protein and healthy fats along with loads of fibrous vegetables, nuts, and small amounts of fruits (while minimizing grains and sugars) can all be exactly what we need to prevent heart disease and also diabetes.
If you thought today's article was helpful, please send this page to your friends and family.
If you want to see how to use carbs strategically to actually lose body fat faster, check out this article:
Strategically use carbs as a "metabolic trigger" to lose fat faster
I'll be back soon with more lean-body secrets.
Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
But we also need to talk about another related topic that is equally important...
Most people over the years have been misinformed by the media that dietary fats are the cause of heart disease. In recent years, scientists have become quite clear that this is not the case. Sure, artificial trans fats are a big cause of heart disease, but not necessarily healthy natural fats from unprocessed foods (except in the case of excess omega-6 fats compared to omega-3 fats).
But here's another cause of heart disease that most people aren't aware of...
First, remember that LDLs can be broken down into big puffy LDLs (type A, which don't contribute to plaque in the arteries) and small dense LDLs (type B) which do contribute to plaque in the arteries.
Now this is where it gets interesting... High insulin levels from a high carbohydrate intake over time cause your body to produce higher levels of nasty small/dense LDL particles in your blood (type B LDL particles), which are known to be atherogenic (causes plaque in your arteries).
Yes, that's right... a chronically high carb intake can actually be one of the causes of heart disease.
What does the government recommend... a high carbohydrate diet. Doesn't make much sense does it? Is their recommendation biased to support big business? I'll let you decide on that.
Now another thing to keep in mind are your triglyceride levels. Higher triglyceride levels in your blood are another risk factor for heart disease. According to well-known nutrition author Rob Wolf , "Triglycerides are a measure of circulating blood fats, so you would think a high-fat diet would mean high triglycerides, right? Interestingly, this is not the case. Triglycerides are in fact an indicator of high dietary carbohydrate and insulin sensitivity. High carbs and poor insulin sensitivity = high triglycerides."
Once again, everything you've been told over the years about eating a high-carb diet being healthy, is not quite accurate. Eating moderately higher protein and healthy fats along with loads of fibrous vegetables, nuts, and small amounts of fruits (while minimizing grains and sugars) can all be exactly what we need to prevent heart disease and also diabetes.
If you thought today's article was helpful, please send this page to your friends and family.
If you want to see how to use carbs strategically to actually lose body fat faster, check out this article:
Strategically use carbs as a "metabolic trigger" to lose fat faster
I'll be back soon with more lean-body secrets.
Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
posted by Mike Geary at
1:46 PM
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