This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Changing diets in India could be leaving a hidden group of people at greater risk of high cholesterol because of genes they do not know they carry.

Across India, people are eating more white rice and white flour, and less fiber and fewer fruits and vegetables. Scientists from the University of Reading and the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, Chennai, India, found that for people with certain genes, this kind of diet is linked to more cholesterol in the blood.

Vimal Karani, a professor who led the study at the University of Reading, said, "Food in India is changing fast, and our study suggests some people may be paying a hidden price. You cannot tell by looking at someone whether they carry these genes, but when they eat lots of white rice and little fruit and vegetables, they tend to have more cholesterol in their blood.

"Our genes do not have to decide our health. Eating more fruit, vegetables, beans and lentils may help protect the people most at risk, and food advice in India needs to reflect that now."

The study is the first to look at how genes and overall diet work together to affect cholesterol in people of Indian heritage.

The research involved studying the genes and diets of 1,020 adults in Chennai, a city in southern India. Participants were given a diet score.

Source link