High-Grain Diet May Increase
Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

When humans consume more carbohydrates than can be stored, the excess carbohydrate energy is converted to fat by the liver. This process may maintain blood sugar control and prevent diabetes in the short-term, however it may also increase triglyceride concentrations, which may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

In the last decade, researchers established that fat production by the liver varies depending on dietary habits and health status.

The typical Western diet has a high fat content, which means that only a limited amount of carbohydrates are available for liver fat production, and liver fat production tends to be very low among individuals who eat this type of diet. However, when too many carbohydrates were consumed, both liver fat and sugar production were increased.

A very low-fat (10 percent of energy) and very high-carbohydrate (75 percent of energy) diet also leads to increased liver fat production, with the increase being even more pronounced when more than half of the carbohydrate was consumed as simple sugars. This points to the importance of carbohydrate quality, as another study using 68 percent of energy from complex carbohydrate resulted in minimal liver fat production.

However, it was found that obese individuals with high insulin levels who consume a high-fat (40 percent of energy) diet had a liver fat production rate three to four times higher than that of lean individuals with normal insulin levels. But, both normal and high insulin groups had lower liver fat production on the high-fat diet than on a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet.

Moreover, the low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet caused an increase in triglyceride concentrations, a risk factor for coronary heart disease, which was associated with the liver fat production in both normal and high-insulin individuals.

Researchers concluded that the low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet might not be ideal, as it can induce liver fat production and insulin resistance. This is especially true when most of the carbohydrate is in the form of simple sugars.

Reference Source 89

For more information on how to prevent other diseases, use
PreventDisease.com's "Quick Prevention Resources".