Low-glycemic diet may not benefit heart health

Diets that favour low GI carbs may not improve the risk factors for cardiovascular health and diabetes, says new study. - Shutterstock

Diets that classify high-carb foods by how much they increase blood sugar don't improve risk factors for diabetes or cardiovascular disease as previously thought, according to a new study. 

"The study results were very surprising," says lead author Frank M. Sacks, MD, a physician and researcher in Brigham and Women's Hospital's Channing Division of Network Medicine. "Our findings demonstrated that using glycemic index to select specific foods did not improve LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure or insulin resistance."