Healthy Diet for Heart

Carbohydrates are cheapest and abundant source of energy. They are available as starch and sugars. Starch is a complex carbohydrates present in large quantities in cereals, potatoes and root vegetables. They are converted to simple sugars for utilization of energy.

I. Monosaccharides :
a. Glucose - Carrots, Oranges
b. Fructose - All type of fruits, honey
c. Galactose - On hydrolysis of lactose

II. Diasaccharides :
a. Sucrose (table sugar) – Sugarcane, Beetroot
b. Lactose (Milk sugar) – Animal / human milk
c. Maltose (Malt sugar) – on hydrolysis of starch

III. Polysaccharides :
a. Starch – Cereals, root, pulses
b. Dextrins – On hydrolysis of starch
c. Glycogen – Liver & muscle
d. Indigestible – Cellulose, pectin

Carbohydrate provide 4 calories / gm of energy
Indian diet are cereal based and have high carbohydrate content (70%)
Complex carbohydrates (cereals, etc) is preferred to simple sugars as they reduce risk of atherosclerosis and hyperlipedemia.

Ability of food item to raise the blood sugar level is measured as glycemic index of that item.

Simple carbohydrates (sucrose, glucose) have higher G.I.
Lactose and Fructose have lower G.I. compared to glucose & maltose
Rice and wheat have almost similar G.I. (70 Vs 72)
Baked potato and white bread produce larger G.I. than white rice & Corn
Blood glucose rise after consumption of rice is lower than that of potatoes
Fruits like apple and orange has lower G.I. (40) than banana (70)
Honey has higher G.I. (87)
Milk products (milk, curds) have low G.I.
Dried legumes, soya beans, peanuts, ground nuts, rajmah, lentils, kidney beans have lower G.I. and ideal for diabetics
Root vegetables like potato, yam, beetroot have higher G.I.