I kept seeing a research study about low carb diet and cholesterol that came out yesterday but was to far away from a good computer to post about it.
Over the long term, a low-carb diet works just as well as a low-fat diet at taking off the pounds — and it might be better for your heart, new research suggests. This study was even done on a fairly large number of people so it seems to be valid.
Both diets improved cholesterol in a two-year study that included intensive group counseling. But those on the low-carbohydrate diet got a bigger boost in their so-called good cholesterol, nearly twice as much as those on low-fat.
Low carb diet and cholesterol
In previous studies, low-carb diets have done better at loss at six months, but longer-term results have been mixed. And there’s been a suggestion of better cholesterol from low-carb eating.
The latest test on low carb diet and cholesterol is one of the longest to compare the approaches. At the end of two years, average loss was the same for both — about 15 pounds or 7 percent.
The real problem the way I look at it usually is that a low barb diet will starve you of lots of nutrients. If you skip veggies and fruit you are going to have trouble staying healthy but the potatoes and rice and pasta? I say ditch them if you can.
Low carb Diet increases HDL Cholesterol
The key difference with the low carb diet and cholesterol was in HDL, or good cholesterol: a 23 percent increase from low-carb dieting compared to a 12 percent improvement from low-fat, said Gary Foster, director of Temple University’s Center for Obesity Research and Education, who led the federally funded study.
He said the low-carb boost is the kind one might get from medicines that improve HDL.
“For a diet, that’s pretty impressive,” Foster said.
The findings, published in Tuesday’s Annals of Internal Medicine, are based on a study of 307 adults, two-thirds of them women. Participants were obese but didn’t have cholesterol problems or diabetes.
Half followed a low-carb diet modeled after the Atkins’ plan and half went on a low-calorie, low-fat diet. All attended group sessions to help them change bad eating habits, get more active and stick to their diets. This low carb diet and cholesterol study is very interesting, we will see where it leads.
