Research

Hormonal

Higher dietary glycemic index (GI) is associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease, with a relative risk of 1.24 per 10 unit increase in GI on the glucose scale.

Choose carbohydrates with a lower Glycemic Index (GI) to support heart health. The study indicates that for every 10-unit increase in GI, your risk of coronary heart disease increases by about 24%. This means prioritizing foods that digest slowly and cause a smaller spike in blood sugar, such as legumes, whole grains, and non-starchy vegetables, over refined grains and sugary foods.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Meta-analysis gave a combined studies mean CHD-GI RR of 1.24 (95% CI, 1.12-1.38) (P<.001) per 10 U GI
Geoffrey Livesey et al. · Mayo Clinic Proceedings Innovations Quality & Outcomes · 2019

Why this rating

High-quality prospective cohort meta-analysis with strict inclusion criteria.

Source

Coronary Heart Disease and Dietary Carbohydrate, Glycemic Index, and Glycemic Load: Dose-Response Meta-analyses of Prospective Cohort Studies

Geoffrey Livesey et al. · Mayo Clinic Proceedings Innovations Quality & Outcomes · 2019

DOI 10.1016/j.mayocpiqo.2018.12.007

Meta-analysis · 12 studiesCited 82×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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