Low-carb, high-protein diets consist of eating fat and protein while restricting carbs. Limiting carbs forces the body to turn to fat for energy, which leads to subsequent weight loss. Although low-carb, high-protein diets are usually followed for fat loss, research indicates that it has other benefits as well.
Blood Pressure
In research reported in the January 2010 issue of the journal "Archives of Internal Medicine," researchers from the Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Duke University Medical Center investigated the effects of high-protein, low-carb diets on overweight subjects with high blood pressure. Patients followed a low-carb diet or a low-fat diet with orlistat, a weight loss drug. At the end of the 12-month study, scientists found that the low-carb diet was more effective in lowering blood pressure compared to the lo-fat diet plus orlistat.
Metabolic Syndrome
Patients with metabolic syndrome, a group of risk factors for heart disease, diabetes and stroke, often have high lipid levels, which in turn increases inflammation in the body. The general recommendation for individuals with metabolic syndrome is to follow a low fat diet, which would lower blood lipid levels and inflammation in the body. However, researchers from the University of Connecticut found that a low-carb diet might be a better option for patients with metabolic syndrome. They discovered that patients who adhered to a low-carb diet experienced improvements in blood lipid levels and decreases in inflammatory markers, such as cytokines, chemokines and adhesion molecules, compared to those following a low-fat diet, according to research reported in the December 2007 issue of the journal "Lipids." Researchers stated that controlling the hormone insulin, such as during low-carb diets, may reduce the risk factors associated with metabolic syndrome, including high triglycerides, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and glucose intolerance.
Fat Loss
Scientists from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and the Soroka University Medical Center in Germany explored the effects of a low-carb diet, Mediterranean diet, and low fat diet on fat loss. They reported in the July 2008 issue of "New England Journal of Medicine," that moderately obese subjects who consumed a low-carb diet for two years lost more body fat compared to those who followed the Mediterranean and a low-fat diets.
HDL Cholesterol
High density lipoprotein, or HDL, cholesterol is referred to as good cholesterol because it removes the harmful low density lipoprotein, or LDL, cholesterol from artery walls. Scientists from the University of Connecticut discovered that women with normal lipid levels who consumed a low-carb diet for four weeks experienced a modest increase in LDL cholesterol, but a greater increase in HDL cholesterol compared to those following a low-fat diet, according to research published in the September 2003 issue of the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition."
References
- Science Daily: Low-Carb Diet Effective at Lowering Blood Pressure
- Science Daily: Low-Carb Diet Reduces Inflammation And Blood Saturated Fat In Metabolic Syndrome
- The New England Journal of Medicine: Weight Loss with a Low-Carbohydrate, Mediterranean, or Low-Fat Diet; I.Shai et al.; July 2008
- Journal of Nutrition: An Isoenergetic Very Low Carbohydrate Diet Improves Serum HDL Cholesterol and Triacylglycerol Concentrations, the Total Cholesterol to HDL Cholesterol Ratio and Postprandial Lipemic Responses Compared with a Low Fat Diet in Normal Weight, Normolipidemic Women; J.S. Volek et al.; September 2003
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