OBJECTIVE Low-fat hypocaloric diets reduce insulin resistance and prevent type 2 diabetes in those at risk. Low-carbohydrate, high-fat diets are advocated as an alternative, but reciprocal increases in dietary fat may have detrimental effects on insulin resistance and offset the benefits of weight reduction.
via diabetes.diabetesjournals.org
So hold on--what's this? Low carb diets might have DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS on insulin resistance? Let's take a closer look.
Look at this sample menu below. You'll see that in the "low-carbohydrate" they have included, bread, white potatoes, bread crumbs, carrots. All foods that provoke insulin response. So what they've determined is that "calories in and calories out" works no matter what the quality of those calories are. Both diets reduced overall body mass and both diets resulted in increased insulin sensitivity.
This is not a low-carbohydrate diet in any sense of the term as it is understood clinically. Furthermore, it is a pro-inflammatory diet as it includes gluten, white potatoes, and high-glycemic vegetables.
Their conclusion that the insignificant findings on arterial health may become significant is speculative--and even more to the point, the pro-inflammatory effects of fat are only present in the presence of carbohydrates. While including pro-inflammatory foods like gluten, white potatoes, and carrots, you've tested nothing but the pro-inflammatory effects of those foods.
What is going on? When will they test a truly low-carbohydrate anti-inflammatory diet without reservation?
TABLE 1
Sample menus for a typical day on each intervention diet
| Meal | Low-carbohydrate diet (7.7 MJ) | Low-fat diet (7.6 MJ) |
|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | Scrambled eggs (40 g); bacon rasher, fat trimmed, grilled (20 g); hash brown, grilled (45 g) | Cornflakes (40 g), bran-based cereal (7 g), semiskimmed milk (200 g), pineapple juice (250 g) |
| Lunch | Wholemeal bread (72 g), cooked ham (30 g), mayonnaise (25 g) | Wholemeal bread (72 g); cooked ham (60 g); mayonnaise, reduced calorie (13 g); cheddar cheese, reduced fat (20 g) |
| Dinner | Potatoes, in skins, boiled (145 g); chicken breast in crumbs, baked (140 g); peas, boiled (95 g); carrots, boiled (70 g); gravy instant granules (4 g) | Potatoes, in skins, boiled (260 g); chicken breast in crumbs, baked (120 g); peas, boiled (50 g); gravy instant granules (5 g); |
| Additional foods | Peanuts, roasted and salted (40 g); Brazil nuts (30 g); butter (21 g); cheddar cheese (44 g); | Chocolate mousse, low fat (55 g); apple (153 g); jaffa cake (13 g); cola (150 g); chewy cereal bar (23 g); fruit yogurt, low fat (150 g); white bread, toasted (27g); strawberry jam (10 g); semiskimmed milk (300 g) |