You may be aware that most nutritionists and health care providers encourage you to stay away from refined carbohydrates. What you may not be clear about is what refined carbohydrates actually are and how they are bad for you. Refined carbohydrates, like white bread, white rice, white pasta and white flour, have the potential to raise triglycerides, a type of fat that may increase your heart disease risk.
Types of Grains
Grains are divided into two subgroups -- whole and refined -- based on their components. A grain kernel is made from three components: the bran, the germ and the endosperm. Whole grains contain the entire grain kernel. Refined grains, like white bread, white rice, white pasta and white flour, have gone through a type of processing called milling. The milling process removes the bran and germ from the grain kernel, leaving only the endosperm. The goal of milling is to increase the grain’s shelf life and to give it a finer, more visually appealing texture.
Increase in Triglycerides
Removing the bran and germ from the grain kernel also removes important nutrients like fiber and B vitamins and allows refined carbohydrates to be digested more rapidly than whole grains. This rapid digestion causes a significant increase in blood glucose levels followed by a resulting spill of insulin into the blood. This insulin delivers the necessary amount of glucose to your cells and stores a portion of what remains as glycogen. The sugar that remains is converted into triglycerides and carried to the liver for storage. Regular consumption of refined carbohydrates can lead to overproduction of triglycerides and an excessive amount of triglycerides in your blood.
Prevention
To prevent your triglyceride levels from climbing, avoid consuming too many refined carbohydrates. Instead, choose whole wheat products. Read nutrition labels and look for foods that contain whole wheat, oats, barley, corn or rice listed as the first ingredient. Avoid foods that contain enriched or bleached wheat as the first ingredient. This indicates that the food has undergone a refining procedure.
Choose breads, crackers and pasta that contain more than 2 g of fiber per serving. Choose cereals that have at least 5 g of fiber per serving.
Considerations
In addition to limiting your intake of refined carbohydrates, it is also important to avoid consuming too many natural and added sugars. Limit your portion of starchy vegetables, like potatoes, beans, corn, peas and sweet potatoes, to one serving size, or about 3 oz. Restrict intake of added sugars to one to two servings per week. Examples of added sugars include honey, molasses, corn syrup, jam and jelly.
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