Simple Sugars May Cut 'Good' Cholesterol Levels
 

Wednesday January 9

Simple Sugars May Cut 'Good' Cholesterol Levels

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - While following a low-fat diet can have significant health benefits over the long term, it may also result in lower levels of HDL, or ``good,'' cholesterol. Now, a new study has found a possible culprit: simple sugars.

According to the report, individuals who adopt a low-fat diet tend to replace fats with simple sugars in non-fat baked goods and processed foods. Simple sugars can reduce HDL levels, and low HDL levels are known to be a major heart disease risk factor for women.

``The current American food supply offers an abundance of low-fat and fat-free foods that depend on simple carbohydrates or added sugars to improve their flavor,'' Linda B. Bunyard and colleagues from the University of Maryland at Baltimore write. ''Whether the recent trend toward fat-modified foods provides an overall benefit to this population is questionable.''

In the study, 55 overweight and obese postmenopausal white women followed the American Heart Association (news - web sites)'s Step 1 diet, in which no more than 30% of total calories come from fat. The women were mostly inactive and their average body mass index (BMI), a measure of weight in relation to height, was 33. People with a BMI of at least 25 are considered overweight, while those with a BMI of 30 or above are obese.

After 10 weeks, the women lost an average of 2% of their body weight, reduced total cholesterol by 8% and cut LDL (''bad'') cholesterol by 6%. HDL cholesterol, however, declined 16%, the researchers report in the January issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

During the same period, the women's average intakes of total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol fell, while the percent of calories from carbohydrates--both complex carbohydrates such as whole grains and simple sugars--rose. According to the analysis, a higher average intake of simple sugars was the only dietary change associated with lower HDL.

``Women who achieve a low-fat diet by substitution of simple sugar for dietary fat may be at risk of lowering their HDL cholesterol on such a diet,'' Bunyard and colleagues conclude.

The researchers stress that the findings do not suggest that individuals avoid fruits and vegetables and note that more research is needed to determine which simple sugars contribute to reductions in ``good'' cholesterol.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Dietetic Association 2002;102:52-57.


http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/200...hl/sugar_1.html