Study Finds Health Benefit In Low-Glycemic Diet

A diet rich in the type of carbohydrates that maintain a more stable blood sugar beats out a conventional low-fat diet in reducing the risk factors for heart disease and diabetes, according to a new study.Researchers compared a diet rich in carbohydrates with a low glycemic index -- the type that stabilizes blood sugar -- with a conventional low-fat diet that included carbohydrates with a high glycemic index."Carbohydrates with a low glycemic index are absorbed through the small intestine and converted to blood sugar at a much slower rate than high glycemic, resulting in a more stable blood sugar and much less insulin being produced,” said Mark A. Pereira, a University of Minnesota epidemiologist. “So that would help prevent or control diabetes."The work by Pereira and his team appears in the Nov. 24 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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