Does a Low-Carb Diet Work?

A number of studies indicate that a low-carb diet may in fact work better than a traditional low-carb diet. Two of those studies are listed here:

Bassett Research Institute in Cooperstown, New York, who followed 18 Atkins dieters for a month. During the 2-week induction period, the dieters consumed 1,419 calories a day, compared with 2,481 calories a day before starting the diet, and lost an average of about 8 pounds. In the next phase, dieters averaged 1,500 calories a day and lost an additional 3 pounds in two weeks. Dieters in both phases cut back on carbohydrates by more than 90%, but the actual amounts of fat and protein they ate changed little. Some patients felt tired, and some were nauseated on the plan.

In July 2008, the New England Journal of Medicine published the results of the first two-year study involving a low-carbohydrate diet. The study compared a low-carbohydrate diet, a 30%-fat diet recommended by the American Heart Association, and a 35%-fat "Mediterranean" diet that included portions of olive oil and nuts. Among the 272 participants who completed the study, the average weight loss was about 6.3 pounds for the low-fat group, 9.7 pounds for the Mediterranean-diet group, and 10.3 pounds for the low-carbohydrate group, and the low-fat group showed less improvement than the other groups in blood cholesterol levels.

The New England Journal of Medicine noted that the higher fat, lower-carb diet used in the study was still lower in fat by 20% than the typical Atkins diet.

 

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