Research

Hormonal

Replacing dietary fat with high-glycemic index (GI) carbohydrates increases the prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia and low HDL-cholesterol, particularly in non-obese individuals.

If you eat a high-carbohydrate diet, the quality of those carbohydrates matters significantly for your blood fats. Replacing fats with high-glycemic index carbs (like white rice or refined grains) is linked to higher triglycerides and lower 'good' HDL cholesterol. This effect is particularly strong if you are not overweight. Focus on low-GI carbohydrates and healthy fats rather than simply reducing fat intake.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
Replacing fat with high-GI carbohydrate intake was associated with higher a prevalence of high TGs and low HDL-cholesterol levels in both men... and women... The associations were stronger for high-GI carbohydrates than low- or med-GI carbohydrates.
Woo‐Kyoung Shin et al. · Molecular Nutrition & Food Research · 2020

Why this rating

Large sample size (n=93,870) and rigorous statistical adjustment, but the cross-sectional design prevents causal inference.

Source

Carbohydrate Intake and Hyperlipidemia among Population with High‐Carbohydrate Diets: The Health Examinees Gem Study

Woo‐Kyoung Shin et al. · Molecular Nutrition & Food Research · 2020

DOI 10.1002/mnfr.202000379

cross_sectional · n=93870Cited 11×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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