Doctors warns against ‘most dangerous carbohydrate’: ‘Can raise blood sugar from 200 to 250 mg/dL’

Dr. Obaidur Rahman, an orthopaedic and sports surgeon at Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Delhi, has issued a warning about a particular carbohydrate that he considers to be the most dangerous. According to him, industrial starches can cause blood sugar levels to skyrocket from 200 to 250 mg per deciliter in just a few hours. He emphasized that these are not your typical carbohydrate-rich foods like bread and rice, but rather highly processed starches found in many packaged products.

These industrial carbohydrates are created by extracting and modifying starches from sources like corn, potatoes, and wheat, then adding them to a variety of packaged foods as sweeteners, thickeners, stabilizers, and fillers. Dr. Rahman explained that these additives are cheap and commonly used in items such as sauces, chips, bakery products, and instant mixes.

However, the accuracy of his claims and the extent to which consumers should be concerned about industrial starches compared to traditional carbohydrate-rich foods remains debatable. Dr. Raju Vaishya, a senior orthopaedic and joint replacement surgeon at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, clarified that industrial starches differ from natural starches in terms of digestion speed.

He noted that many industrial starches like maltodextrin and glucose syrup are absorbed more rapidly, leading to a higher and quicker blood glucose response per gram. However, not all industrial starches behave the same way, and some modified or resistant starches are designed to digest more slowly, potentially mitigating post-meal glucose spikes.

Dr. Vaishya emphasized that the evidence suggests that diets high in ultra-processed foods are linked with weight gain, poorer cardiometabolic health, and higher inflammation risk. While rapid digestible starches can contribute to glucose spikes and repeated insulin demand, especially in individuals with diabetes or prediabetes, the exact impact varies depending on portion size, frequency, and the overall food matrix.

Dr. Vaishya concluded that the claims about fatty liver, gut dysfunction, and joint inflammation, while biologically plausible and partly supported in broader ultra-processed food research, are not directly attributed to industrial starch itself and have limited context-dependent evidence. To identify and limit the consumption of industrial starches, Dr. Vaishya recommended checking ingredient lists on food labels for common additives such as maltodextrin, modified food starch, glucose syrup, and corn syrup solids.

He advised consumers to opt for fewer packaged foods, favor minimally processed carbohydrates like whole grains, beans, fruit, vegetables, and plain dairy, and replace refined, additive-heavy foods with high-fibre, nutrient-dense staples.