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Diets low in carbohydrates and high in fat may be less risky for heart health than previously thought.
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A new study found that people who ate low carbohydrates with high unsaturated fat had improved insulin resistance as well as lower cholesterol levels.
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It is not clear whether more restrictive low-carb diets can pose health risks.
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According to new research, some low-carb diets may actually be heart healthy, unlike old fears about the health risks of eating too much fat.
According to a study published Sept. 28 in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, diets high in unsaturated fats like oily fish, olive oil and nuts can help lower cholesterol and stabilize blood sugar.
Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital, Framingham State University, and Harvard Medical School conducted a randomized controlled feeding trial to see how low-carb diets might affect markers of insulin resistance and health cardiac.
The researchers looked at 164 overweight and obese participants without diabetes or heart disease who had a low-calorie diet. After the weight loss, they were given one of three different weight maintenance diets for five months: low carbohydrate diet (no more than 20% of daily calories from carbohydrates), moderate carbohydrate (40%) or high in carbohydrates (60%).
The researchers found that the reduction in carbohydrates was linked to significant improvements in measures of insulin resistance, the body’s ability to respond to the hormone insulin to manage blood sugar, a key factor in the risk of type diabetes. 2.
Low-carb dieters have also shown no signs of side effects from the high-fat diet. In fact, heart health metrics such as their cholesterol, blood pressure, and triglycerides have remained stable or improved.
These results suggest that a diet low in carbohydrates and high in fat may have promising overall health benefits and less risk than previously believed.
Previously, experts warned that low-carb and keto diets high in saturated fat could be risky for your health.
Low-carb and keto diets have been controversial as they have grown in popularity in recent years as dieticians and doctors have expressed concerns about the health risks of eating too much fat. Saturated fats, found in foods like butter, bacon, eggs, whole dairy products and red meat, have been linked to higher levels of LDL or “bad” cholesterol and a higher risk of disease. cardiac.
Still, a growing body of evidence has shown that low-carb diets can be effective for weight loss and diabetes control.
The researchers wanted to test whether the benefits of low carbs came at the expense of a higher risk of heart problems, potentially due to the high fat content in the diet.
Participants of the low-carb diet consumed 21% of their daily calories from saturated fat and still saw improvements in heart health, suggesting that the benefits of low-carb may outweigh the risks on offer. , at least in some cases.
However, the researchers noted that it is not clear from the study whether more restrictive low-carb diets, such as those containing 10% or less of daily calories from carbohydrates, may be risky for you. heart health. The study also did not examine how a low-carb diet might affect certain high-risk populations, as the participants were relatively healthy and had low cholesterol from the start.
Sources of unsaturated fats like fish and olive oil are linked to health benefits in eating styles like the Mediterranean diet
Some of the benefits of low carbs, in this study and others, may be due to unsaturated fats found in foods like nuts, seeds, avocado, olive oil, and fish. fatty like salmon.
The participants in this study ate about two-thirds of their dietary fat as unsaturated fat sources.
Other research has shown that diets high in unsaturated fat, like the Mediterranean diet, are linked to health benefits, including a lower risk of chronic diseases like diabetes.
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