The composition of dietary carbohydrates does not influence the risk of heart disease

Carbohydrates - especially simple carbohydrates - have been labeled the "bad guys" in nutrition. Some scientists have speculated that rapid increases in blood sugar levels cause obesity, insulin resistance and heart disease.

A Harvard study conducted with 163 overweight adults who followed four different diets that included different amounts and types of carbohydrates concluded that dietary carbohydrate composition had no effect on blood sugar regulation, blood lipid levels or systolic blood pressure (the upper blood pressure reading).

Individual lifestyle, including exercise, dietary intake, sleep habits, smoking and stress, has a greater impact on health than dietary factors in isolation.

(Journal American Medical Association, 312: 2531 -2541, 2014)