. . . .interesting study.
"The percentage of subjects who had dropped out of the study at 3, 6, and 12 months was higher in the group following the conventional diet (30, 40, and 43 percent, respectively) than in the group following the low-carbohydrate diet (15, 27, and 39 percent, respectively)."
"the relative increase in HDL cholesterol concentrations and the relative decrease in triglyceride concentrations were greater in the group on the low-carbohydrate diet than in the group on the conventional diet throughout most of the study."
"In contrast, the low-carbohydrate diet was associated with greater decreases in serum triglycerides and greater increases in HDL cholesterol than was the conventional diet, and the levels of both are also important risk factors for coronary heart disease.31,32,33 The magnitude of these changes approximates that obtained with pharmacologic treatments, such as derivatives of fibric acid and niacin.31 Although part of this benefit may be due to the greater weight loss with the low-carbohydrate diet, the changes are greater than those expected from a moderate weight loss alone.30 Therefore, it is likely that the macronutrient composition of the diet contributed to the improvement in the HDL cholesterol–triglyceride axis. High-carbohydrate, low-fat diets decrease HDL cholesterol concentrations and increase serum triglyceride concentrations,34,35,36,37 whereas low-carbohydrate, high-fat diets decrease triglyceride concentrations16,27,37 and increase HDL cholesterol concentrations.15 Moreover, replacing dietary polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fat with carbohydrate is associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease, as predicted by changes in triglyceride and HDL cholesterol concentrations.38"
Despite these positives, I think it's written in a slightly negative tone about the low-carb diet despite not finding anything negative about the diet. I think the reason might be that the researchers received consulting and lecture fees from a slew of pharmaceutical companies and also, Slim-Fast, Coca-Cola, and M&M's.
|