Dartmouth Medical School, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, 1
Medical Center Drive, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA.

In the popular and widely used Atkins diet, the body burns fat as its
main fuel. This process produces ketosis and hence increased levels of
beta-hydroxybutyrate (BOB) acetoacetate (AcAc) and its by-products
acetone and acetol. These products are potential precursors of the
glycotoxin methylglyoxal. Since methylglyoxal and its byproducts are
recognized as a significant cause of blood vessel and tissue damage,
we measured methylglyoxal, acetone, and acetol in subjects on the
Atkins diet. We found that by 14-28 days, methylghyoxal levels rose
1.67-fold (P = 0.039) and acetol and acetone levels increased 2.7- and
6.12-fold, respectively (P = 0.012 and 0.028). Samples from subjects
with ketosis showed even greater increases in methylglyoxal (2.12-
fold), as well as acetol and acetone, which increased 4.19- and 7.9-
fold, respectively; while no changes were seen in samples from
noncompliant, nonketotic subjects. The increase in methylglyoxal
implies that potential tissue and vascular damage can occur on the
Atkins diet and should be considered when choosing a weight-loss
program.

PMID: 16037240 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]


The above study was received e-mail from a friend.

They noted that Methylglyoxal is 40,000x more reactive than blood sugar.

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