study of long term ketogenic diet

[hakimaj]

They found very significant results for <20g carb/day ketogenic diets in lowering both weight and cholesterol, and increasing HDL. We already knew that, though, of course.

Long term effects of ketogenic diet in obese subjects with high cholesterol level.
Mol Cell Biochem. 2006 Jun;286(1-2):1-9. Epub 2006 Apr 21.
Dashti HM, Al-Zaid NS, Mathew TC, Al-Mousawi M, Talib H, Asfar SK, Behbahani AI.

Department of Surgery, Kuwait University, Safat, Kuwait.

Objective: Various studies have convincingly shown the beneficial effect of ketogenic diet (in which the daily consumption of carbohydrate is less than 20 grams, regardless of fat, protein and caloric intake) in reducing weight in obese subjects. However, its long term effect on obese subjects with high total cholesterol (as compared to obese subjects with normal cholesterol level is lacking. It is believed that ketogenic diet may have adverse effect on the lipid profile. Therefore, in this study the effect of ketogenic diet in obese subjects with high cholesterol level above 6 mmol/L is compared to those with normocholesterolemia for a period of 56 weeks. Materials and methods: In this study, 66 healthy obese subjects with body mass index (BMI) greater than 30, having high cholesterol level (Group I; n = 35) and those subjects with normal cholesterol level (Group II; n = 31) were selected. The body weight, body mass index, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, urea, creatinine, glucose and triglycerides were determined before and after the administration of the ketogenic diet. Changes in these parameters were monitored at 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48 and 56 weeks of the treatment. Results: The body weight and body mass index of both groups decreased significantly (P < 0.0001). The level of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and blood glucose level decreased significantly (P < 0.0001), whereas HDL cholesterol increased significantly (P < 0.0001) after the treatment in both groups. Conclusion: This study shows the beneficial effects of ketogenic diet following its long term administration in obese subjects with a high level of total cholesterol. Moreover, this study demonstrates that low carbohydrate diet is safe to use for a longer period of time in obese subjects with a high total cholesterol level and those with normocholesterolemia.

PMID: 16652223 [PubMed - in process]

[tamarian]

This is an excellent study, long term (over a year), and decent sample of over 60 people. :thup:

Wa'il

[hakimaj]

Yes - I haven't seen the paper, but it seems well-designed.

[eepobee]

anyone interested in the full text can read it here (http://ca.geocities.com/eepobee/cq1l10803t1j9621.pdf).

[Frederick]

Awesome, thanks for the link!

Just as I felt 2 years ago, every succeeding study will only assert what we all know to be true.

[Dodger]

Some observations from the study:

Weight was still decreasing at the 56 week mark, and 74% of the participants were still following the eating plan at that time. This is a really low dropout rate.

HDL was increasing at the same rate at 56 weeks as it was near the beginning. It did not appear to be nearing a steady-state level.

Triglycerides decreased rapidly in the first weeks and then slowly decreased after that. They appear to have reached a steady-state value at a year.

LDL decrease was not drastic and was slow. It is hard to tell, but may still be going down at 56 weeks.

Glucose levels dropped rapidly for those with high levels to begin with. Those without high levels decreased slowly. At 56 weeks, the levels were still slowly decreasing.

Urea levels rose initially and then rapidly decreased and were still decreasing at 56 weeks. Those with gout tendencies may have an increased risk of attacks during the first 16 weeks, then a significant decrease in risk from pre-diet levels.

All the various lipid ratios (triglyceride/HDL, LDL/HDL, total/HDL) were still improving at 56 weeks.

It seems that even after 56 weeks of low-carbing, the body is still getting healthier.

[Katy131]

eepobee -

I can't get that link .. cannot find server! :(

What happened to the Total Cholesterol readings?

[Dodger]

Total also went down a lot at first, stayed steady then rose near the end because HDL was still rising.

[Dodger]

Katy, it's an Adobe PDF file and you need Adobe Reader (http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html) installed in your browser to open it.

[ItsTheWooo]

It seems that even after 56 weeks of low-carbing, the body is still getting healthier.
Despite maintaining a relatively normal weight range thus eating similar quantities (I lost like 8 lbs) I saw dramatic health improvements from year 2 to year 3.

I think normal diet really damages the body, and it slowly heals with time. "Normal" is actually impaired.

[bigpeach]

Just like creationists claim every new piece of the evolutionary puzzle found creates more missing links, the vegan crowd will say this study only brings up more questions.

[kebaldwin]

Amazing how LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and glucose drop *a lot* within 8 weeks and HDL keeps slowly rising.

I think this is what Dr Atkins was saying. Dr Atkins convinced me into getting the physical before starting the diet and then again 2 months later. My doctors simply said "whatever you are doing -- keep on doing it".

[kyrasdad]

Just like creationists claim every new piece of the evolutionary puzzle found creates more missing links, the vegan crowd will say this study only brings up more questions.

I hadn't thought of that connection, but it is spot-on. They both display a dogmatic belief that utilizes half-truths and psuedo-science to inject it into real science. They edit out what's inconvenient. They don't actually care about the truth, they care about a narrow agenda.

I don't mind either, and in fact have great respect for religion, which is what hardcore veganism is, more than a nutritional philosophy, but it isn't science and shouldn't be presented as science.

[LC_Dave]

Awesome study!

Thanks for bringing that to our attention!! :thup: :thup: