Effects of a High-Carbohydrate Diet Consumption
Arguably, the quality of diet would be an important factor in assessing the public health of a nation. In the UK, diet-related ill health has resulted in a significant burden on the National Health Service (NHS). Thus, this could indicate that the UK larger population does not eat healthily. To remedy this, there has been an effort on the part of the UK Government to set dietary recommendations that inform the development of food models serving as advice on a healthy diet for the populace. This UK food model has metamorphosed between 1994 to 2016 from ‘The Balance of Good Health’, ‘The Eatwell Plate’ to now ‘The Eatwell Guide’. The latest dietary carbohydrate recommendation set by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN), stems from the controversies around its link to ill-health. SACN considered various evidence with a primary focus on cardio-metabolic health, colo-rectal health, and oral health.
There have been studies to pinpoint the possible link between carbohydrates and diabetes risks. For example, Schulze et al. argues that increased consumption of easily digestible carbohydrates predisposes subjects to the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Similarly, the findings of Villegas hinted at the possible link between the excessive consumption of carbohydrate-rich foods and the development of T2D. Also, in agreement, are the findings of earlier studies by Salmeron et al. and Salmeron et al. concluding that diets high in sugars increase the risk of diabetes. It could be drawn from these observations that readily assimilated sugars might result in heightened systemic sugar leading to T2D. However, Schulze et al. (2008) posits that subsisting sugars for fats in a diet has an inverse relationship to the risk of diabetes. The findings suggest that more carbohydrates at the expense of protein and fats do not increase the risk of T2D. Therefore, the association of dietary carbohydrates consumption to diabetes risk is still not distinct.
More so, overweight or obesity is an overwhelming metabolic derangement that has been associated with dietary intake. In 2009, Delbridge, Prendergast, Pritchard, and Proietto suggested that neither carbohydrate nor protein intake has a positive effect on managing overweight. This could suggest that means other than diets might be explored for possible intervention to overweight. However, Frisch et al. argues that a low sugar diet has a favourably effect on weight loss and also poses less cardiovascular risk compared to its fat counterpart. Hence, it could be argued that fat other than sugars are implicated in the etiology of obesity. This is in agreement with the findings of Foster et al. that low carbohydrate and fat diets contribute to weight loss. However, the findings in totality, portray that a consensus on the implications of sugars to overweight or obesity is yet to be reached.
Furthermore, it has been hypothesised that high intake of carbohydrates is implicated in the onset of colorectal cancer. However, Terry, Jain, Miller, Howe, and Rohan argues that there is insufficient evidence to conclude. Similarly, Larsson, Giovannucci, and Wolk presents that high sugar intake does not predispose women to colorectal cancer. In agreement with this, is the study of Michaud et al. which argues that high carbohydrate diet intake is linked to the development of colorectal cancer in men but not in women. More so, the prospective study of Li et al. failed to link high sugar take to the risk of colorectal cancer in Chinese women. These findings suggest that the upsurge of insulin observed in colorectal cancer could be a result of other systemic dysfunction than the intake of carbohydrates. Hence, the evidence so far proved no relationship between high dietary sugar intake to the risk of colorectal cancer.
Dietary sugars have long been fingered to be cariogenic. Studies have shown that there is a significant link between sugar intake and dental caries development in school children. Similarly, Ruottinen et al. posits that continuous intake of readily assimilated sugar can result in dental caries in young persons. The seemingly increased cases of dental caries among children could have informed these studies. Nonetheless, the studies so far have focused on children, the consensus seems to be that excessive sugar intake leads to dental caries development.
Overall high consumption of carbohydrates can cause different diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases (CVD) that have been dubbed “silent killers' are thought to be diet-related. There is a positive correlation between the high dietary intake of processed carbohydrates and the onset of coronary heart disease. The high dietary intake of processed carbohydrates to risks of cardiovascular diseases especially in overweight women. However, lower carbohydrate consumption instead is linked to CHD in North American males and females.
