The Slowcook at Spydog Farm The Slowcook at Spydog Farm

Carbs To Die For

June 28th, 2009 · 1 Comment · Posted in Wellness

Carbs will break your heart.

Carbs will break your heart.

We’ve written lots about how carbohydrates–not fats–are behind the so-called diseases of civilization: obesity, diabetes, hypertension, atherosclerosis. The problem is, plant foods, especially refined starches and grains, trigger an insulin response in the body. Besides being the hormone primarily responsible for fat storage, insulin has a corrosive effect on the body. Too many Americans are dying a slow death from overexposure to insulin, brought about by carbohydrate abuse.

Now researchers in Isreal have found that carbs–expecially the high-glycemic ones that cause a sudden spike in blood sugar–can be responsible for heart attacks. The mechanism behind this diabolic pathway to oblivion is the effect that carbohydrates have on brachial arteries, stretching them out for hours at a time until they become prone to heart disease or even sudden death.

Medical researcher Dr. Michael Shechter has developed a technique that allows him to visualize what is happening inside arteries while people eat. Volunteers who consumed high-glycemic carbs such as bread, french fries, corn flakes, sweetened soda, experienced arterial stress and dysfunction that lasted for hours, giving ominously new meaning to the term, “sugar rush.”

“It’s very hard to predict heart disease,” says Dr. Shechter, a fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association. “But doctors know that high glycemic foods rapidly increase blood sugar. Those who binge on these foods have a greater chance of sudden death from heart attack.”

You can read the entire article here. (Hat tip to Janet in Kansas. Thanks Janet!)

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  • mariam

    Dear Ed, are you familiar with the Montignac method ? I know, I know, he is french and maybe too far away to be trusted… when I do his stuff, I feel good and loose weight fast . It is not as radical as totally ignoring carbs . You certainly sound very happy with the diet you are following, but just in case youwant to change something in future, check him out. Please note I have no commercial interest whatsoever in this site or endeavor ! http://www.montignac.com/en/la_methode.php