Life and Fitness Coach

Starchy carbs: Bigger threat to heart than fats

The more starchy-carbohydrate foods you consume -- bread, rice, pasta, pastries, etc. -- the higher your levels of insulin.

Excess insulin increases the chances of heart disease, according to a study by Dr. Diana Holdright, consultant cardiologist at the Heart Hospital in London. Insulin contributes to the inflammatory process, which leads to hardening of the arteries. High levels of insulin boost stress hormones; these in turn raise blood pressure.

It’s not just the insulin. Excess “bad” carbs also turn to tryglicerides in your liver, which in turn give you more tryglicerides in the bloodstream, which turns to bad cholesterol.

This is what I recommend:

Cut back on producers of bad carbohydrates such as bread, rice, pasta, cakes, pastries, candy and soft drinks. In my opinion the only time we really need the energy from those foods is when we’re about to undertake difficult physical activity, such as hard labor or intense workouts.

If you eat these high-starch foods and don’t burn off their energy they can lead to heart disease, as the study warns. And, of course, the starch will store as fat, especially around your midsection.

Remember fruits and vegetables also produce carbohydrates -- but of course they are not on the “bad” list. Enjoy them anytime.

1 in 7 equals nothing good

Fitness crazes come and go, but most Americans seem consistently dedicated to doing nothing about fighting obesity and chronic illness via exercise and nutrition. The government’s Centers for Disease Control delivers the bad news in yet another study. Hint: Be the one.

Just one in seven U.S. adults reported regular physical activity along with consuming five servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Nearly 17 percent of men who described themselves as being of mixed ethnicity said they regularly combined both behaviors, compared with 13 percent of white men. Seventeen percent of white women reported both healthy eating and exercise, compared with 15 percent of Hispanics and 13 percent of African Americans, according to the study, conducted by the CDC. “Prevalence of engaging in both behaviors is low among all racial/ethnic populations."

Read the CDC report

Must to avoid: abdominal fat

Some fat accumulation is more dangerous than others, research by Central Michigan University has found. Fat around the abdomen impairs metabolic health and increases the risk of heart disease and cancer. Abdominal fat is far more dangerous to health than fat on the hips or thighs. Waist circumference is a good measure of abdominal deposition. To reduce this measurement, eat a low-starch diet, weight-train and do cardiovascular exercise several times a week.

Another reason not to smoke

In a recent study in the American Journal of Cardiology involving 123 people with cardiovascular disease, smoking greatly increased the chance that low-dose aspirin would fail to have the desired effect on blood platelets. This goes along with the previous research suggesting that smoking can make blood “stickier,” which could negate aspirin’s cardio-protective effect. For this and many other reasons, smoking is probably the worst thing you can do for your cardiovascular system.