Low-carb diets ‘may be better for heart’

OVER the long term, a low-carb diet works as well as low-fat — and it may be better for your heart.

Both diets improved cholesterol in a two-year study. But those on the low-carbohydrate diet got a bigger boost in their so-called good cholesterol, nearly twice as much as those on low-fat.

In previous studies, low-carb diets have done better at weight loss at six months, but longer-term results have been mixed. And there’s been a suggestion of better cholesterol from low-carb eating.

The latest test is one of the longest to compare the approaches. At the end of two years, average weight loss was the same for both — about 15lb or 7%.

The key difference was in HDL, or good cholesterol: a 23% increase from low-carb dieting compared to a 12% rise from low-fat, said Gary Foster, director of Temple University’s Centre for Obesity Research and Education, who led the study.

He said the low-carb boost is the kind one might get from medicines that improve HDL. “For a diet, that’s pretty impressive,” Mr Foster said.

The findings are based on 307 adults, two-thirds of them women. Participants were obese but didn’t have cholesterol problems or diabetes. Half followed a low-carb diet modelled on the Atkins plan and half went on a low-calorie, low-fat diet. All attended group sessions to help them change bad eating habits, get more active and stick to their diets.

The volunteers had periodic checks of weight, blood, bone density and body composition. After two years, there was no major differences between diet groups, except in good cholesterol. Researchers said they didn’t know why the low-carb diet had a bigger effect on good cholesterol.

As low-carb plans became popular, experts feared the diet would drive up the risk of heart disease because it allows more fat. The latest results suggest those concerns are unfounded, Mr Foster said. In the low-carb group, there was an early rise in “bad” cholesterol, the kind that builds up in arteries. But after two years, both groups ended up with similar improvements to bad cholesterol.

Mr Foster said dieters should be less concerned about which diet to use, and focus on finding the support or technique — like writing down what they eat — that keeps them on track.