Cut the carbs, loose weight and lower cholesterol. Carbs are not your friends in our pathetically inactive American culture.
# Study compared low-carb diet, Mediterranean-style diet, and traditional low-fat diet
# Low-carb diet improved cholesterol more than the other two
# All three approaches achieved weight loss and improved cholesterol
ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- The Atkins diet may have proved itself after all. A diet low in carbohydrates, found in bread, improved cholesterol more than two other diets.A low-carb diet and a Mediterranean-style regimen helped people lose more weight than a traditional low-fat diet in one of the longest and largest studies to compare the dueling weight-loss techniques.
A bigger surprise: The low-carb diet improved cholesterol more than the other two. Some critics had predicted the opposite.
"It is a vindication," said Abby Bloch of the Dr. Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Foundation, a philanthropy group that honors the Atkins' diet's creator and was the study's main funder.
However, all three approaches -- the low-carb diet, a low-fat diet and a Mediterranean diet -- achieved weight loss and improved cholesterol.
The study is remarkable not only because it lasted two years, much longer than most, but because of the huge proportion of people who stuck with the diets: 85 percent.
Put that bagel down! What if you did a low-fat, low-carb, Mediterranean diet?
Anthony - glad to see you note this. I did Atkins a few years ago and was the typical guy who lost it and gained it back worse. Then I read Gary Taubes book, Good Calories, Bad Calories last year and it gave me the impetus to get on and stick on a low-carb diet. I lost 60lbs in a little over 6 months, I could have lost it a lot faster but I cheated several times, my blood work has improved and the weight is staying off. I've been keeping up with low carb stuff since then and the evidence in favor of the health benefits of a low carb diet is overwhelming. This study is just one of many, many, confirming this.
Thanks for your story David! Wow! 60 pounds, that's awesome. Keep it up bro. It's gotta be tough in a culture like ours that's totally carb-centric.
It is but after awhile you find ways to make it work.
i wouldn't mind seeing some newer stuff that gives viable and intelligent ways to handle weight loss with some of these techniques....like maybe a version 2 of the 'diet cookbooks'
I have switched to a low-carb plan too. I am experiencing such amazing benefits. Clear skin, no more "brain fog", no more cravings, improved mood, consistent energy, cleaner teeth - the list goes on. I saw a nutritionist who suggested I am gluten intolerant, and she is trying to get me to go back to non-wheat carbs. It really seems like our culture is very anti low-carb.. it's odd!