Today is World Heart Day

Did you know that September 28 is World Heart Day? And did you know that reducing carbohydrates in your diet can play a key role in the prevention of heart disease? It does this in a number of ways:

• Reduces weight, particularly abdominal weight ("belly fat").


• Reduces abnormal blood glucose: Many diabetics and pre-diabetics find they can achieve normal blood glucose without medication by following a low-carb diet.


• Lowers blood pressure: In fact, if you are taking medications for either blood sugar or blood pressure, it is vital to talk to your doctor when reducing carbohydrate in your diet, as it is likely that your dosage will have to be changed. Medications and Low-Carb Diets


• Improves blood lipids by lowering blood triglycerides and raising HDL ("good") cholesterol. In fact, these two changes have been called the "hallmarks" of a low-carb diet, and some doctors even use these markers to determine whether their patients are "cheating". Low-carb diets also consistently decrease the small particle LDL ("bad") cholesterol which has been shown to be the most dangerous. But more on that tomorrow, as we wind up Cholesterol Awareness Month.

Photo © Pablo

Related Resources:

• 20 Benefits of Low-Carb Diets
  
  
• Low-Carb Diets Improve Cholesterol Without Weight Loss
  
  
• Low-Carb Comes Out Ahead in Diet Comparison