High carbohydrate intake increases risk of dying younger: Study
What's the story
People with a high carbohydrate diet run the risk of dying younger compared to those consuming more fat, according to a recent study conducted by the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE).
The study also dismissed the age-old convention that low consumption of dietary fat helps keep blood cholesterol levels in check and reduce chances of heart attack.
Here are more details.
Mortality rate
Individuals with high-quality diet had 25% lower risk of mortality
Individuals with "highest-quality" diet, which included roughly 54% of energy from carbohydrates, 28% from fat, and 18% from protein, had a 25% lower risk of "all-cause mortality" when compared with those with a poor-quality diet, the study said.
Cardiovascular disease is considered a global epidemic with 80% of the burden of the illness seen in low-income and middle-income countries, the study said.
Information
Cut down on rice, roti, and bread, have healthy heart
Seconding the findings of the PURE report, senior cardiologists from Kolkata stressed that to keep the heart healthy, lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and hypertension should be kept under control by cutting down consumption of rice, roti, and bread.
Saturated fats
Saturated fats should be avoided, says Apollo doctor
The doctors also opined that saturated fats should be avoided.
"A balanced diet dictates that not more than 50% of our diet should be carbohydrates and about 30-35% should be fat. It's extremely crucial to limit the intake of carbohydrate, especially the refined ones," Senior Interventional Cardiologist of Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals, Dr. Suvro Banerjee, said, on the occasion of World Heart Day today.
Healthy heart
Unsaturated fats, moderate saturated fats are good for heart: Doctor
Refined carbohydrates such as polished rice and sugar-based food items may not only increase blood cholesterol but also accelerate the onset of diabetes, obesity, and heart diseases, Dr. Banerjee said.
"Not only unsaturated fats (known to be good fats) but also a moderate amount of saturated fats may be good for the heart. However, trans fat should be totally avoided," he added.
Information
Unprocessed meat should be preferred over processed meat: Cardiologist
"The long-held view that one should avoid meat, especially red meat, has also been challenged. Unprocessed meat should be preferred over processed meat," Dr. Banerjee said, adding that the dairy products such as full-fat milk or cheese are not bad if taken in moderation.
What docs say
Carbohydrates, main reason for weight gain, not fats
"In a poverty-stricken country as ours, relatively cheaper and easily available carbohydrates are the mainstay of our diet. Hence, implications of PURE study are more important for India than western countries, where proportion of carbohydrate in diet is usually lower," Dr. Banerjee said.
Dr. Debasis Das, Cardiac Surgery Consultant, Narayana Super Speciality Hospital, said, carbohydrates are the main reason for weight gain, not fats.