THE G.I. FACTOR AND RISK OF HEART DISEASE
The G.I. factor is important in heart disease too. It has a role in the diets of people who already have heart disease, but perhaps of greater significance in the long term, it has a practical role in the prevention of heart disease.
Why do people get heart disease? Atherosclerotic heart disease develops early in life when the many factors that cause it have a strong influence. Over many decades doctors and scientists have identified the processes in fine detail and now most of the factors which cause heart disease are well known. Theoretically this type of heart disease might be largely prevented if everyone’s risks were assessed in youth and if all the right things were done throughout the rest of their lives. In practice there has been only a limited development of the ways to screen people for risk early in life, and the resources needed to achieve prevention are just not available. However a great deal is already being done to identify risk factors in healthy people and those with established heart disease. Those who take the necessary action reduce their risk.
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