Some Interesting Relationships Between Dietary Carbohydrates and Serum Cholesterol

Recent information which attempts to relate a high intake of sugar in the diet to a high incidence of ischemic heart disease has been reviewed. Data collected by the Interdepartmental Committee on Nutrition for National Development (ICNND) have been evaluated for sixteen countries. In these countries the average intake of fat was associated in a significantly positive fashion with the intake of sugar. Similarly, there was a negative association between the average concentration of cholesterol in the blood and the average intake of complex carbohydrates as represented by cereals, vegetables and the like. It is of interest to note that this idea was published more than one hundred and fifty years ago by Young, who quoted Dr. Stark as saying, “does not an excess in sweets give a greater shock to the system than an excess in fats.”