Breakfast Cereal Raises Blood Sugar, Heart Risks
Put the cornflakes down! New findings in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology claim high-glycemic foods spike blood sugar and interfere with normal functioning of blood vessels. Subjects fed cornflakes, glucose and high-fiber cereal had impaired the endothelial function—the cells that line the inside of blood vessels—compared to people given oatmeal, fruits, vegetables, legumes and nuts. Poor endothelial function is believed to increase the risk of heart disease; Health Day News reports.
Breakfast cereal and white bread are processed foods, i.e. empty carbohydrates with no nutrition. Even “whole wheat” bread is a scam. Dr. Fuhrman says caramel color is added to give it the appearance of whole wheat. Luckily, fruits and vegetables are packed with healthful fiber and nutrients.
In April, a study showed overweight Latino teenagers switching to a high-fiber, low-sugar diet had less risk of type-2 diabetes and experienced substantial drops in blood glucose levels.
Image credit: vinduhl
Hi Gerry
Hard to disagree with DrF over the poor quality of bread.
I buy a local 100% organic whole grain bread, but it tastes quite salty to me, and that is about the best I can do. The supermarkets have 'Ezekiel' bread from USA, but it is of very uneven quality, often freezer burned, and very expensive.
In my opinion the place for these high glycemic foods is in sports nutrition and that's it. On Sunday I bicycled over 50 miles, and prepared for this by eating pasta, white bread and potatoes on Friday and Saturday.
Cheers, Steve
Doesn't having fruit alone or a glass of Pomegranate juice on an empty stomach spike blood sugar & insulin. What are other breakfast options if I don't like soy or rice milk? Thanks
Whole wheat or oat-bran pita bread and corn tortillas are probably the best bang for your buck for whole grain bread products. Grains really aren't all that great compared to other high-carbohydrate foods like fruit, potatoes and winter squashes. If you do eat cereal, boil any whole grains until soft and store in the fridge. I regularly eat brown rice with sliced bananas, blueberries or other fruits for breakfast. Much healthier than any boxed cereal.
There's always oatmeal if you want grain for breakfast.