title: An isoenergetic very low carbohydrate diet improves serum HDL cholesterol and triacylglycerol concentrations, the total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol ratio and postprandial pipemic responses compared with a low fat diet in normal weight, normolipidemic women.
abstract: Very low carbohydrate diets are popular, yet little is known about their effects on blood lipids and other cardiovascular disease risk factors. We reported previously that a very low carbohydrate diet favorably affected fasting and postprandial triacylglycerols, LDL subclasses and HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) in men but the effects in women are unclear. We compared the effects of a very low carbohydrate and a low fat diet on fasting lipids, postprandial lipemia and markers of inflammation in women. We conducted a balanced, randomized, two-period, crossover study in 10 healthy normolipidemic women who consumed both a low fat (<30% fat) and a very low carbohydrate (<10% carbohydrate) diet for 4 wk each. Two blood draws were performed on separate days at 0, 2 and 4 wk and an oral fat tolerance test was performed at baseline and after each diet period. Compared with the low fat diet, the very low carbohydrate diet increased (P <or= 0.05) fasting serum total cholesterol (16%), LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) (15%) and HDL-C (33%) and decreased serum triacylglycerols (-30%), the total cholesterol to HDL ratio (-13%) and the area under the 8-h postprandial triacylglycerol curve (-31%). There were no significant changes in LDL size or markers of inflammation (C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha) after the very low carbohydrate diet. In normal weight, normolipidemic women, a short-term very low carbohydrate diet modestly increased LDL-C, yet there were favorable effects on cardiovascular disease risk status by virtue of a relatively larger increase in HDL-C and a decrease in fasting and postprandial triaclyglycerols.
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-1110, USA. jvolek@uconnvm.uconn.edu
authors.forename: Jeff S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Volek
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Sharman
authors.forename: Ana L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Gómez
authors.forename: Timothy P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Scheett
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Kraemer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001835:Body Weight; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood*; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood; D018752:Diet, Fat-Restricted; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000097:blood; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood*; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D019518:Postprandial Period; D012016:Reference Values; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D016207:Cytokines; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D008055:Lipids; D014280:Triglycerides; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D002784:Cholesterol