| In: Health Risks
High Glycemic Carbs May Cause Fatty Liver Disease
We know we need to stay away from the simple sugars and starches, high on the glycemic index, which measures how rapidly a food causes a rise in blood sugar levels.
Now there is another reason to avoid high glycemic carbohydrates. Science Daily reports on new research indicating a link between high glycemic carbohydrates and fatty liver disease:
The researchers, led by David Ludwig, MD, PhD, director of the Optimal Weight for Life program at Children’s Hospital Boston, fed mice either a high- or a low-glycemic index diet. High-glycemic index foods, including white bread, white rice, most prepared breakfast cereals and concentrated sugar, raise blood sugar quickly. Low-glycemic index foods, like most vegetables, fruits, beans and unprocessed grains, raise blood sugar slowly.
On the high-glycemic index diet, mice ate a type of cornstarch that is digested quickly whereas on the low-glycemic index diet, mice ate a type of cornstarch that is digested slowly. The diets had equal amounts of total calories, fat, protein, and carbohydrate, and the mice were otherwise treated identically.
After six months, the mice weighed the same. However, mice on the low-glycemic index diet were lean, with normal amounts of fat in throughout their bodies. Mice on the high-glycemic index diet had twice the normal amount of fat in their bodies, blood and livers.
When sugar melts out of high-glycemic index food, Ludwig explains, it drives up production of insulin, which tells the body to make and store fat. Nowhere is this message felt more strongly than in the liver, because the pancreas, which makes insulin, dumps the hormone directly into the liver, where concentrations can be many times higher than in the rest of the body. Fat buildup in the liver, or fatty liver, is usually symptomless, but it increases the risk for liver inflammation, which can progress to hepatitis and, in some cases, liver failure.
This is all the more reason to follow a sensible diet with low glycemic carbohydrates. David Mendosa has a wealth of resources on the glycemic index, including a detailed glycemic index of foods; a very valuable reference. Also helpful is the official website of the glycemic index and international GI database maintained and updated by the School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences at the University of Sydney.