In the five decades since the Framingham Heart Study first linked high cholesterol levels to heart disease, scientists have sought ways to treat lipid disorders and reduce their impact on heart health. Much of this effort has centered on the development of medications to lower cholesterol, but lifestyle modifications have also been a major focus of cholesterol management. Research has shown that what you eat affects your lipid levels, and carbohydrates play a significant role in your cardiovascular health.
Carbohydrate Digestion
Carbohydrates -- sugars and starches -- represent the major source of dietary energy for most Americans, providing between 40 percent and 80 percent of their caloric intake. Carbohydrates you consume are broken into their constituent sugars and absorbed into your bloodstream. According to the authors of the 2010 book "Fat Detection: Taste, Texture, and Post Ingestive Effects," the complexity of a given carbohydrate and its rate of absorption determine how it affects your health. Furthermore, as researchers at China's Sichuan University demonstrated in 2008, your specific metabolic state -- whether you are insulin-resistant or obese -- can influence the ultimate fate of the carbohydrates you eat.
Simple or Complex
Simple carbohydrates such as table sugar, honey and agave nectar are quickly broken down and absorbed from your intestine. Their rapid introduction to your bloodstream triggers physiologic responses that contribute to insulin resistance, which encourages your body to produce more triglycerides and other undesirable lipids. People who are already overweight or insulin-resistant tend to produce triglycerides and cholesterol more readily than their lean and insulin-sensitive counterparts. In contrast, carbohydrates that are more slowly digested -- so-called resistant starches -- enter your bloodstream gradually, thereby enhancing your insulin sensitivity and improving your lipid status.
Lower Cholesterol
Cholesterol can be synthesized from building blocks that are derived from carbohydrate metabolism. Specifically, acetyl-CoA, which is generated when your cells split glucose, is used to build cholesterol's molecular backbone. High blood glucose levels -- the result of eating lots of simple sugars -- tend to enhance the production of fatty acids and cholesterol. Resistant starches such as beans, whole grains and other "complex carbs" don't cause rapid elevations in your blood glucose; these foods actually can help reduce your total cholesterol level.
Reduce Sugars
The overconsumption of simple sugars -- sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup -- has been linked to obesity, metabolic syndrome and diabetes. So-called natural sugars such as agave nectar, raw sugar, cane sugar and honey have the same undesirable health effects when you eat them in excess. However, complex carbohydrates, which are relatively resistant to digestion in your gastrointestinal tract, offer cholesterol-lowering benefits. If you want to get your cholesterol level down, "unsweetening" your diet is a step in the right direction.
References
- Framingham Heart Study: Research Milestones
- "Fat Detection: Taste, Texture, and Post Ingestive Effects"; Dietary Fat and Carbohydrate Composition: Metabolic Disease; M.A. Brown, et al; CRC Press 2010
- "Journal of Sichuan University, Medical Science Edition"; Effects of High-Carbohydrate/Low Fat Diet on Serum Lipid Ratios in Healthy Young Subjects; C.F. Gan, et al.; March 2008
