1.
Starches, sugars and obesity.
Aller, EE, Abete, I, Astrup, A, Martinez, JA, van Baak, MA
Nutrients. 2011;(3):341-69
Abstract
The rising prevalence of obesity, not only in adults but also in children and adolescents, is one of the most important public health problems in developed and developing countries. As one possible way to tackle obesity, a great interest has been stimulated in understanding the relationship between different types of dietary carbohydrate and appetite regulation, body weight and body composition. The present article reviews the conclusions from recent reviews and meta-analyses on the effects of different starches and sugars on body weight management and metabolic disturbances, and provides an update of the most recent studies on this topic. From the literature reviewed in this paper, potential beneficial effects of intake of starchy foods, especially those containing slowly-digestible and resistant starches, and potential detrimental effects of high intakes of fructose become apparent. This supports the intake of whole grains, legumes and vegetables, which contain more appropriate sources of carbohydrates associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular and other chronic diseases, rather than foods rich in sugars, especially in the form of sugar-sweetened beverages.
2.
Ad libitum intake of low-fat diets rich in either starchy foods or sucrose: effects on blood lipids, factor VII coagulant activity, and fibrinogen.
Marckmann, P, Raben, A, Astrup, A
Metabolism: clinical and experimental. 2000;(6):731-5
Abstract
People are advised to reduce their intake of saturated fat and replace it by carbohydrate to avoid coronary heart disease. It is unknown whether sucrose and starchy foods, two major sources of carbohydrates, have similar effects on cardiovascular risk markers if incorporated as a replacement for saturated fat into diets eaten ad libitum. We served 20 healthy, normal-weight women aged 21 to 52 years three strictly controlled diets ad libitum: FAT, high in total fat (46% of total energy [E%]) and saturated fat (21 E%); STARCH, high in total carbohydrates (59 E%) and low in sucrose (2.5 E%); and SUCROSE, high in total carbohydrates (59 E%) and sucrose (23.2 E%). The diets were eaten in randomized order for a period of 2 weeks. Blood lipids, factor VII coagulant activity (FVIIc), and fibrinogen concentrations were measured with subjects in the fasted state (9:45 AM) and the postabsorptive state (6:00 PM). STARCH was associated with lower total cholesterol (mean difference, 0.34 mmol/L; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.18 to 0.50), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (0.25 mmol/L; 95% CI, 0.13 to 0.37), fasting triglycerides (0.15 mmol/L; 95% CI, 0.07 to 0.23), nonfasting triglycerides (0.44 mmol/L; 95% CI, 0.30 to 0.58), and nonfasting FVIIc (9.8%; 95% CI, 3.8 to 15.8) than SUCROSE. Compared with FAT, STARCH resulted in a desirable decrease of LDL cholesterol and nonfasting FVIIc. STARCH was also associated with a minor weight loss (0.7 kg) that was not found on the other 2 diets. We conclude that starchy foods with a natural content of dietary fiber can be recommended as substitutes for saturated fat in the dietary prevention of coronary heart disease. According to the present short-term findings in healthy females, substitution with sucrose is not advisable.