Avoiding Atkins
If you’ve been diagnosed with high cholesterol, your doctor has probably told you to lose weight. But, when it comes to lowering those lipids, all weight-loss diets are not created equal.
According to a new study by researchers at the University of Maryland Hospital, people who follow a low-carb, high-fat diet (think Atkins) for as little as one month actually make their cholesterol and other risk factors for heart disease worse.
Luckily, much of the hoopla surrounding the low-carb craze has faded since its glory days. But it’s still one of the diets most people think of when they’re trying to lose weight – which is why this study is so important.
Where’s the Beef?
The idea behind this new study was to look at the effects of three popular diets when they’re used for weight maintenance and not weight loss.
The researchers compared the impact of the Atkins, South Beach, and Ornish diets on the measurable risk factors for heart disease in people who weren’t overweight and who weren’t trying to lose weight. The study included 18 healthy adults who followed each of the three diets for one month, followed by a one-month “wash-out” period, during which they ate what they would normally eat.
The low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet designed to approximate the Atkins diet included 50 percent of its calories from fat and 22 to 38 percent of calories from saturated fat sources like meat, cheese, and whole-fat dairy products. The Mediterranean-based South Beach diet included 30 percent of the calories as fat, but olive and other vegetable oils, nuts, lean meats, and fish were the main fat sources.
During the low-fat, high-carbohydrate Ornish diet, only 10 percent of the calories came from fat.
The researchers conducted blood tests throughout the study to assess risk factors for heart disease, including LDL (bad) cholesterol, triglycerides, and C-reactive protein, which measures inflammation in the body. They also used ultrasound to look at any changes in the flexibility of the participant’s blood vessels – specifically, their ability to widen to accommodate blood flow. Atherosclerosis, the hardening of the arteries, hinders that process and is associated with heart attack and stroke risk.
Rising Risk
By the end of the study, one thing was clear: There are big differences in these three diets when it comes to cardiovascular risk factors, particularly when followed by people who aren’t losing weight.
Specifically, the study showed that:
While on the Atkins diet, LDL cholesterol levels increased slightly, compared to decreases of about 12 percent on South Beach and 17 percent during the Ornish phase of the study.
After a month on the Atkins-like diet, study participants showed less blood vessel flexibility than they did after a month on the Ornish diet.
CRP levels stayed in the normal range with all three diets, but levels went down slightly while the participants were on the South Beach and Ornish diets. Not surprisingly, they went up on the high-fat, low-carb diet.
These results simply prove what many of us have suspected for years. Diets high in saturated fat support unhealthy cholesterol levels, are pro-inflammatory, and promote heart disease in other ways as well.
Club Med
The maintenance phase of the Atkins diet isn’t very different from the typical Western diet. And that may be why so many Americans suffer from heart disease. In fact, a separate study, recently published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that older people who eat large amounts of saturated fat in the form of red and processed meat are more likely to die prematurely.
The study of more than 500,000 middle-aged and elderly Americans found that those who consumed about four ounces of red meat a day (the equivalent of about a small hamburger) were more than 30 percent more likely to die during the 10 years they were followed, mostly from heart disease and cancer. Sausage, cold cuts, and other processed meats also increased the risk.
So what should you eat? While the Ornish diet is quite heart healthy, it’s primarily a vegetarian diet – which means it can be tough to stick with for some people. The South Beach diet, on the other hand, is rooted in the Mediterranean, where people have extremely healthy hearts.
The Mediterranean diet incorporates the basics of healthy eating – plus a splash of flavorful olive oil and perhaps a glass of red wine – among other components characterizing the traditional cooking style of countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. A 2007 study by U.S. researchers found that both men and women who ate a Mediterranean diet lowered their risk of death from both heart disease and cancer.
Eating “Med” doesn’t require you to give up fat. Instead, you choose healthy varieties like olive oil and avocado. It is also extremely high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Most people in the Mediterranean eat very little meat but at least nine servings of fresh fruits and veggies daily. They also eat fish at least twice a week and enjoy a glass of red wine with dinner. (If you don’t drink, you can get the same benefits from a resveratrol supplement.)
Once you experience the delicious and heart-healthy meals from the Mediterranean, it might just become your favorite way to lower your cholesterol once and for all.
One Last Thing …
Move over oats! Barley may just be the next cholesterol-lowering superfood. This humble grain contains the same insoluble fiber as oats, yet it hasn’t been studied as extensively. But a new analysis combining eight previous randomized trials adds up some good news for barley lovers: People who regularly ate barley saw significant reductions in their LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, triglycerides, and total cholesterol. The researchers concluded that health practitioners should feel comfortable recommending barley to their patients to help reduce their total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol concentrations. Now that’s a prescription I can really get behind!
Research Brief …
Add protection against periodontal disease to the ever-growing list of benefits green tea has to offer. Japanese researchers report that men who regularly drink green tea are less prone to gum disease than those who seldom sip it. In a study of 940 men in their 50s, every additional cup of green tea consumed daily was associated with a further reduction of periodontal pocket depth, loss of gum tissue, and bleeding on probing of the gum tissue. The scientists theorized that the anti-inflammatory properties of the catechins in green tea may counter the body’s inflammatory response to bacteria in the mouth.
To get the most benefit from green tea, it’s best to drink at least three cups a day. If you’re not a fan,
