Another article has been posted to our Research pages, this time recapping a study that compared a standard LCD (low carb diet) to the American Heart Association diet that emphasizes low fat. The study was published in the Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases journal, and is posted here.

The study selected 39 individuals and divided them into two groups. One group ate a carb-restricted diet for 12 weeks. The other group ate a carb-restricted diet for 6 weeks, and then switched to the AHA diet for the remaining 6 weeks.

In this study, the low carbohydrate diet followed the recommendations of most of the low carb diets: 20 to 25% of calories from carbs. The AHA diet, by comparison, doubles that amount with 50 to 55% of the calories from carbs.

One concern often expressed about eating low carb and increasing saturated fat in the diet is that LDL can rise using the normal calculated value. This study looks specifically at the type of LDL that each of the diets produces, using direct measurements rather than an inaccurate calculation.

The short version of the results is that the low carb diet “had a better effect on atherogenic VLDL and HDL than the low fat diet recommended by AHA.” Atherogenic VLDL and HDL are particles that lead to the formation of atheromas on the walls of the arteries, or what we commonly call atherosclerosis.

This is just one study, and won’t immediately change the dietary recommendations of nutritionists, doctors and the American Heart Association. But the “Low Fat Age” is seeing its reign come to an end, and the Low Carb Age is upon us.

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