High Carb Foods Can Cause Heart Risk for Women

Although we all know that carbs which have a high glycemic index, such as such as white bread, sweets and some sugary breakfast cereals, aren't good for you, it's surprising to find that it will actually increase the risk of heart disease in women.

The study done by Italy's Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori studied 47,749 Italian adults, including 15,171 men and 32,578 women. Women who consumed the most carbohydrates overall had roughly twice the risk of heart disease as those who consumed the least.

When carbohydrates were separated into high- and low-glycemic index categories, the difference was more pronounced. Women whose diet had the highest glycemic load had 2.24 times the risk of heart disease compared to those with the lowest glycemic load.

"Thus, a high consumption of carbohydrates from high-glycemic index foods, rather than the overall quantity of carbohydrates consumed, appears to influence the risk of developing coronary heart disease," the authors said in an article on AFP. The study was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.