Articles

Weight Loss and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Healthy Women

Study out of the University of Cincinnati instructed obese women to follow either a low fat, calorie restricted diet or a low carbohydrate diet for six months.

Comparison of the Atkins, Zone, Ornish, and LEARN diets for change in weight and related risk factors among overweight premenopausal women: the A TO Z Weight Loss Study: a randomized trial.

Comparison of the Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, and Zone Diets for Weight Loss and Heart Disease Risk Reduction: a Randomized Trial

A single-center randomized trial at an academic medical center in Boston, Mass., studied the health effects of popular diets in overweight or obese adults (mean body mass index of 35; range, 27-42) aged 22 to 72 years with known hypertension, poor cholesterol profiles or high fasting blood sugar. A total of 160 participants were randomly assigned to either the Atkins, Zone, Weight Watchers or Ornish diet groups.

Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies Evaluating the Association of Saturated Fat with Cardiovascular Disease

The objective of this meta-analysis was to summarize the evidence related to the association of dietary saturated fat with risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and cardiovascular disease (coronary heart disease inclusive of stroke) in prospective epidemiologic studies.

Saturated Fat, Carbohydrate, and Cardiovascular Disease

Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health reported that the evidence that supports a reduction in saturated fat intake must be evaluated in the context of replacement by other macronutrients. An independent association of saturated fat intake with cardiovascular disease risk has not been consistently shown in prospective epidemiologic studies, although some have provided evidence of an increased risk in young individuals and in women. However, replacement with a higher carbohydrate intake, particularly refined carbohydrate, can exacerbate the atherogenic dyslipidemia associated with insulin resistance and obesity that includes increased triglycerides, small LDL particles and reduced HDL cholesterol.

New Study Shows the Positive Effect of Low-Carb Diets

A just-released study from Johns Hopkins University has found that dieters that followed a low-carb diet like the Atkins Diet™, shed more weight than those on a low-fat diet –10 lbs. more in six months – and that the low-carb group lost more abdominal fat overall. A key finding was the lack of an adverse effect on vascular health in the low-carb group.