Forum for Science, Industry and Business
Sponsored by:     Siemens  n-tv 
Search our Site:

Topic (optional):

 

Home Reports Health and Medicine Content

Low-carb diet better than low-fat diet at improving metabolic syndrome

next article
16.11.2005

 


Eating a low carbohydrate diet improves metabolic syndrome and may therefore decrease the risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease associated with it. In an article published today in the open access journal Nutrition & Metabolism, Jeff Volek and Richard Feinman review the literature and show that the features of metabolic syndrome are precisely those that are improved by reducing carbohydrates in the diet. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of health signs that may occur together and indicate a risk for diabetes, stroke and heart disease.


The markers of metabolic syndrome - high blood pressure, low HDL levels, high triglycerides, obesity, high blood glucose and high insulin levels – are all improved by a low carbohydrate diet. By contrast, the evidence shows that they are not improved, and can even be worsened by low fat/high carbohydrate diets.

Previous research has never explicitly connected low carbohydrate intake and improvement of metabolic syndrome. The general recommendation to patients has been to focus on reducing fat intake. Volek et al. argue that the cause of metabolic syndrome is linked to insulin imbalance.

Carbohydrates are the main stimulus for insulin, and reducing carbohydrate can be effective at restoring insulin responses. So reducing carbohydrate intake, not fat intake, should be the main aspect of treatment for metabolic syndrome, the authors argue. This is supported by data from previous research, which shows that carbohydrate reduction is more effective than fat reduction at improving all the components of metabolic syndrome.

Juliette Savin | Source: alphagalileo
Further information: www.biomedcentral.com

next article

More articles from Health and Medicine:

nachricht Immune system activated in schizophrenia
20.11.2009 | Karolinska Institutet

nachricht New research helps explain why bird flu has not caused a pandemic
20.11.2009 | Imperial College London

All articles from Health and Medicine >>>

B2B Search

Product / Service
Company / Organisation

Latest News

Scientists Unravel Evolution of Highly Toxic Box Jellyfish

20.11.2009 | Life Sciences

When good companies do bad things: Examining illegal corporate behavior

20.11.2009 | Business and Finance

UCR plant scientist's research spawns new discoveries showing how crops survive drought

20.11.2009 | Agricultural and Forestry Science

VideoLinks

Event News

Multidisciplinary meeting on Urological Cancers aims to benefit cancer patients

20.11.2009 | Event News

'Golden Age' for clinical psychology in Northern Ireland

20.11.2009 | Event News

New Perspectives in Marine Anti-Fouling Research

11.11.2009 | Event News