Low-carb vs low-fat diets: heartwire collection

Editorial series

Fat chance: How cardiologists can help tip the obesity scales

2 COMMENTS - Feb 28, 2011 13:00 EST

Is there a way to stop the obesity juggernaut? Drs Roger Blumenthal, Bob Eckel, and Christopher Gardner gathered to discuss their thoughts on obesity and suggest options for permanent weight loss in obese patients.

Lipid/Metabolic

Higher-protein/low-GI diet best for maintaining weight loss

6 COMMENTS - Nov 25, 2010 12:00 EST

Although a short-term study shows that it works, does this higher-protein "maintenance" diet have implications for the heart? The issue needs to be further explored, say investigators.

Prevention

No yolk: Public downplays threat from dietary cholesterol

14 COMMENTS - Nov 3, 2010 17:15 EDT

UPDATED WITH INTERVIEW // A misconception that dietary cholesterol is relatively benign is now widespread among patients and healthcare professionals, researchers argue.

Features

Diet drug dilemma: If CVD drops tomorrow are risks justified today?

5 COMMENTS - Oct 20, 2010 09:30 EDT

Obesity experts say physicians and drug regulators need to sit up and take notice: the pharmacy shelves are all but bare of weight-loss drugs. Some say soaring BMIs mean certain risks should be deemed acceptable—even in "healthy" obese subjects—to prevent progression to more serious disease down the road. But it's a tough sell.

Features

Kill or cure? Atkins diet debated in diabetes

146 COMMENTS - Oct 18, 2010 13:15 EDT

The Atkins diet is always the subject of controversy when it comes to scientific claims. The latest assertion by one proponent is that it can help treat diabetes, mostly because people can lose weight easily while on this diet. But others argue that there are better options to lose weight and that Atkins is far too restrictive to stay on long term. And perhaps most important, they question the safety of this diet.

Prevention

New PREDIMED data: Mediterranean diet halves incidence of new-onset diabetes

3 COMMENTS - Oct 15, 2010 12:30 EDT

A new study examining whether use of the Mediterranean diet prevented the onset of diabetes in individuals at high cardiovascular risk found that it did, halving the incidence over four years compared with a low-fat diet. Importantly, this benefit was seen without any weight loss, a finding an ADA spokesperson said is "very exciting."

Lipid/Metabolic

Dieting by DNA? Popular diets work best by genotype, research shows

1 COMMENT - Mar 8, 2010 15:45 EST

Data presented last week suggest the secret to weight loss might lie in DNA and that the best way to shed excessive pounds is to diet according to genotype.

Imaging

Weight loss, regardless of diet intervention, can reverse carotid disease

1 COMMENT - Mar 2, 2010 16:45 EST

Improvements in carotid disease severity, as measured by conventional ultrasound but also a three-dimensional volumetric ultrasound technique, were independent of whether patients followed a low-fat, "low-carb," or Mediterranean diet in an imaging substudy of a randomized trial.

Clinical cardiology

Same weight loss, better BP with low-carb diet vs drug/diet combo

1 COMMENT - Jan 25, 2010 16:30 EST

The one-year randomized study is the first to compare the low-carb diet with a low-fat strategy in combination with a diet drug. While lipid changes were similar, diastolic and systolic BP improved more with low-carb.

Prevention

Low-carb diets hit the headlines again

2 COMMENTS - Dec 11, 2009 13:15 EST

UPDATED //A small study in only 24 patients and lasting just eight weeks has once again thrust low-carb diets into the spotlight, with the finding that this diet adversely affected a little-known measure of arterial stiffness, the aortic-augmentation index, which could have implications for long-term vascular health.

Prevention

Atherosclerosis heightened in mice fed low-carb, high-protein diet

Aug 26, 2009 16:30 EDT

A low-carb, high-protein diet in mice resulted in greater atherosclerosis, but it is too early to say how this would translate to humans, researchers say.

Lipid/Metabolic

"Eco-Atkins" plant-based, low-carb diet appears to lower cholesterol

1 COMMENT - Jun 11, 2009 17:00 EDT

Weight loss was similar, but serum lipid levels were better after one month on a low-carb, plant-based diet vs a high-carb, lacto-ovo vegetarian diet, in a small study of overweight adults with hyperlipidemia.

Prevention

Fewer calories=less weight, regardless of carb, fat, or protein content

8 COMMENTS - Feb 25, 2009 17:00 EST

One of the longest diet studies to compare different heart-healthy diets emphasizing different macronutrient levels has shown that what matters is reducing calorie intake over the long term and getting regular support or counseling. (Sacks FM et al. N Engl J Med 2009; 360:859-873.)

Brain/Kidney/Peripheral

Slashing carbs cuts medication use, improves or reverses type 2 diabetes, study says

2 COMMENTS - Jan 9, 2009 13:45 EST

Researchers say almost all of the obese diabetics randomized to a diet of <20 g carbs per day lost weight, improved their HDL, and reduced or eliminated their diabetes meds. Others highlight the high dropout rate and, with the researchers, call for fat-vs-carb trials. (Westman EC et al. Nutr Metab; published online before print December 19, 2008.)

Lipid/Metabolic

Low-glycemic-index diet beats high-cereal-fiber diet for glycemic control in diabetics

16 COMMENTS - Dec 16, 2008 16:45 EST

After six months eating foods with a low-glycemic index, diabetic patients had significantly better glycemic control and increased HDL-cholesterol levels when compared with individuals eating a high-cereal-fiber diet, report researchers. (Jenkins DJ et al. JAMA 2008; 300:2742-2753.)

Lipid/Metabolic

Low-carb and Mediterranean diets beat low-fat for weight-loss, lipid changes at two years

14 COMMENTS - Jul 16, 2008 17:00 EDT

While all three groups in the DIRECT study lost weight, the greatest weight loss was in the low-carb and Mediterranean-diet groups. Investigators and others say it is time to rethink the low-fat paradigm. (Shai I et al. N Engl J Med 2008; 359:229-241.)

Lipid/Metabolic

Different metabolic effects observed with traditional and Atkins-like diets

Dec 31, 2007 17:00 EST

A study comparing the metabolic effects of two diets, one a low-carbohydrate, high-fat, Atkins-like diet and the other a more traditional high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet, showed that both diets had similar improvements on a number of metabolic risk markers, although the traditional diet had more favorable effects on LDL-cholesterol levels. (Tay J et al. J Am Coll Cardiol 2008; 51:59-67.)

Lipid/Metabolic

Low-glycemic-load diet better than low-fat for weight loss, but just in "high insulin secreters"

2 COMMENTS - May 15, 2007 16:00 EDT

Individual differences in insulin secretion may explain why some individuals respond well to either low-fat or low-glycemic-load diets, while others do not, hinting that a simple oral glucose-tolerance test might help physicians and dieticians choose weight-loss strategies for obese subjects. (Ebbeling CB et al. JAMA 2007; 297:2092-2101.)

News

Randomized study comparing four popular diets signals slight edge for Atkins over higher-carb options

Mar 6, 2007 16:00 EST

Dieters and their physicians can be reassured that slashing carbs may be a safe option for losing weight: results from the A TO Z trial found that premenopausal women randomized to the Atkins diet lost statistically more weight than women on the Zone diet. All four diets may be reasonable options for modest weight reduction, authors say. (Gardner CD et al. JAMA 2007; 297:969-977.)

News

Retrospective study shows no increased coronary disease in women eating low-carbohydrate diets over 20 years

Nov 8, 2006 17:00 EST

New observations from the Nurses' Health Study may help allay fears that people who eat higher amounts of protein and fat while cutting back on carbs are not trading hopes of a slimmer waistline for increased coronary heart disease risk. In fact, diets lower in carbohydrates and higher in fats from vegetable sources were associated with a reduced risk for CAD. (Halton TL et al. N Engl J Med 2006; 355:1991-2002.)

Lipid/Metabolic

New AHA diet recommendations also emphasize lifestyle, but focus is still mostly on trimming the fat

Jun 19, 2006 16:00 EDT

In addition to food advice, the 2006 revision also includes guidance on tobacco exposure, socioeconomic status, and environmental factors. Aspects of the new guidelines offer a glimpse into the progress of nutritional science, but at least one expert believes the approach ignores data that challenge the conventional low-fat diet. (Lichtenstein A et al. Circulation; published online before print June 19, 2006.)

Lipid/Metabolic

Unclear whether low-carb diets overall improve CV risk factors in meta-analysis

Feb 14, 2006 17:45 EST

Both low-carb and low-fat diets promoted weight loss, but only the latter reduced total LDL-C levels. On the other hand, the low-carb diets improved triglyceride and HDL-C profiles. Although the outcomes-oriented evidence base favors low-fat diets, the real message may be more complicated. (Nordmann AJ et al. Arch Intern Med 2006; 166:285-293.)

Lipid/Metabolic

Adherence, not diet type, the key to trimming the fat

Jan 6, 2005 14:15 EST

A comparison of the Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, and Zone diets showed weight reduction over one year to be comparable between the four strategies and that adherence to diet was the only strong predictor of weight loss in overweight subjects. Cardiac risk factor changes were also comparable, authors say. (Dansinger ML et al. JAMA 2005; 293:43-53.)

News

Atkins diet: No clear evidence of benefit, Lancet review declares

Sep 2, 2004 18:30 EDT

For the first time, the Lancet is weighing in on the Atkins diet craze with a review calling for longer-term, larger studies of the popular low-carb, high-fat, high-protein diet. (Astrup A et al. Lancet 2004; 364:897-99.)

News

More low-carb studies highlight favorable effects on triglycerides, HDL, although weight loss inconsistent

May 17, 2004 17:00 EDT

Updated with correction / with slides / Two new studies of carbohydrate-reduced diets make it more difficult than ever to "dismiss" the possibility that these diets can help overweight subjects, experts say. Only one of the two studies found weight loss to be greater in the low-carb group than in the low-fat dieters, while both documented positive changes in lipid profiles. (Stern L et al; Yancy WS et al. Ann Intern Med 2004; 140: 778-85; 769-77.)