Reducing your carbohydrate intake has been shown to be a useful way of eating to lose weight. The theory behind low-carb diets is that carbohydrates, by breaking down into sugar, increases your blood sugar levels, which makes your pancreas release more insulin, an hormone known to promote fat storage. Therefore, advocates of the low-carb diet claim that reducing your carb intake will help reduce the levels of circulating insulin and therefore help you burn fat instead of storing it. Many studies support this theory, one of them showing that low-carb diets could help people lose about twice the weight compared to a low-fat diet after one year, as published in March 2007 in the "Journal of the American Medical Association."
Low-Carb Diets
Low-carb diets are characterized by a very limited amount of carbohydrates, usually fewer than 20 g in the first induction phase followed by around 40 to 60 g carbohydrate a day, for most people, during the ongoing weight loss phase. Because carbohydrates are found in so many foods, such as bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, breakfast cereals, milk, yogurt, fruits, fruit juices, desserts, candies and many beverages, low-carb dieters need to change their way of eating drastically. Instead of basing their diet on carbohydrates, they need to turn to fat, such as avocado, olives and olive oil, coconut oil, nuts, peanut butter or almond butter, and protein, such as fish, poultry, eggs, meat, cheese and nuts, as their main source of fuel.
Low-Carb and Risk of Heart Disease
Low-fat diets advocates usually criticize low-carb diet for their higher fat, especially saturated fat, content. Although it is true that low-carb diets tend to be higher in total and saturated fats, numerous well-designed studies, including a meta-analysis published in January 2010 in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," show that saturated fats are not the villain they were thought to be. This meta-analysis actually showed that saturated fat consumption was not associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease or cardiovascular disease.
Low-Carb Diet and HDL Cholesterol
HDL cholesterol is known as the good cholesterol. HDL cholesterol is heart-protective, because it helps to clean the arteries and can therefore prevent cardiovascular disease. In a 24-week long study including a total of 120 overweight and hyperlipidemic participants, it was shown that following a low-carb diet was able to raise good HDL cholesterol levels by 5.5 mg/dL compared to a decrease of 1.6 mg/dL observed in the low-fat diet group, according to a study published in 2004 in the scientific journal "Annals of Internal Medicine."
Low-Carb Diets and Triglycerides
Triglycerides is a type of fat that can be circulating in your blood. High levels of triglycerides, or hypertriglyceridemia, have been associated with an increased risk of developing heart problems. A study counting 120 participants was able to show that following a low-carb diet could significantly lower triglycerides levels in a period of 24 weeks, by as much as 74.2 mg/dL compared to a decrease of only 27.9 mg/dL in the low-fat diet group, as published in the journal "Annals of Internal Medicine" in 2004.
References
- "Journal of the American Medical Association": Comparison of the Atkins, Zone, Ornish, and LEARN Diets for Change in Weight and Related Risk Factors Among Overweight Premenopausal Women
- Atkins: The Program
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition": Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies Evaluating the Association of Saturated Fat with Cardiovascular Disease
- "Annals of Internal Medicine": A Low-Carbohydrate, Ketogenic Diet versus a Low-Fat Diet To Treat Obesity and Hyperlipidemia
