HEART SAVING TIPS YOU MUST FOLLOW: EAT LESS CARBOHYDRATE
This is probably the most important thing you can do to reduce your risk of developing heart disease. Consuming too much carbohydrate can lead to Syndrome X, which promotes weight gain and can lead to type 2 diabetes. Diabetics have much higher rates of heart disease than the general population.
The sad fact is that when most people want to lower their cholesterol level, they think they must follow a low fat diet. The problem with this is, when you reduce the fat you are eating, you have to compensate for that by eating more of something else; and that something is usually carbohydrate.
Carbohydrate rich foods are the staple of many people’s diets. Bread, pasta, rice, cereals, potatoes, corn, and all foods containing grains are high in carbohydrate; sugar is the most concentrated form of carbohydrate. All of these carbohydrate foods are digested into sugar in our body. In order for the sugar to enter our cells and be used for energy, our pancreas must release the hormone insulin. Over time the cells of our body can become resistant to the action of insulin, therefore the carbohydrate we eat is turned into fat. Insulin therefore is a fat creating hormone, and in this way a low fat, high carbohydrate diet can give us cravings and make us gain weight. The liver converts excess carbohydrate we consume into triglycerides and bad LDL cholesterol.
Numerous studies have shown that low fat diets can raise our triglycerides. The American Heart Association states that “Triglyceride levels consistently increase in response to short-term consumption of a very low fat diet”. By “very low fat diet” they mean keeping fat intake to 15% of calories, protein to 15% of calories and carbohydrate to 70%. The American Heart Association goes on to say that the increase in triglycerides due to a very low fat diet is variable, but typically is 70%, and that high triglycerides are often accompanied by low levels of good HDL cholesterol. So there you have it, low fat diets are bad for your blood fats.
On the other hand, following a low carbohydrate diet can help you to lose weight, as well as get your blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels down; numerous studies have shown this. If you base your diet on salads and vegetables, lean meat, fish, chicken, eggs, along with small amounts of raw nuts and seeds, legumes and good fats such as olive oil, you should be able to lower your cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
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