Low-carbhyodrate diet improves metabolic syndrome regardless of weight loss

New Delhi: A low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet improves the metabolic syndrome even though there is no change in weight, suggests a recent study that appeared in the journal JCI Insight.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS), which is highly correlated with obesity and cardiovascular risk, is defined as having at least three of the five factors on this list:

1. Waist circumference > 40 inches (men) or 35 inches (women)


2. Triglycerides > 150 mg/dL


3. HDL-C < 40mg/dL (men) or <50 mg/dL (women)


4. BP > 130/85 mmHg


5. Fasting glucose > 100 mg/dL

These factors are linked to insulin resistance so intake of low low carbohydrate diet improves insulin secretion and therefore makes sense. Prior studies have demonstrated that a low carbohydrate diet not only improves metabolic syndrome but is also associated with weight loss. This has given rise to a very significant question that -- is something intrinsically bad about carbs themselves? or is it that the low-carb diets are beneficial for weight loss.

The answer is given by this study by Parker N. Hyde, Department of Human Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA, and colleagues, that tested the theory that dietary carbohydrate intolerance (i.e., the inability to process carbohydrate in a healthy manner) rather than obesity per se is a fundamental feature of MetS.

For the study, 16 individuals were randomized to three 4-week weight-maintenance diets that were low, moderate, and high in carbohydrate. Protein was constant and fat was exchanged isocalorically for carbohydrate across all diets. Each participant received each diet with 2-week washouts in between. They thus served as their own control—a smart design choice in a small study like this.

Also Read: Low carb diets help burn more calories to maintain weight

The researchers found that:

• Despite maintaining body mass, low-carbohydrate (LC) intake enhanced fat oxidation and was more effective in reversing MetS, especially high triglycerides, low HDL-C, and the small LDL subclass phenotype.


• Carbohydrate restriction also improved abnormal fatty acid composition, an emerging MetS feature.


• Despite containing 2.5 times more saturated fat than the high-carbohydrate diet, an LC diet decreased plasma total saturated fat and palmitoleate and increased arachidonate.

Also Read: Low-carbohydrate breakfast keeps blood sugar in limits for 24 hours in diabetes

"Consistent with the perspective that MetS is a pathologic state that manifests as dietary carbohydrate intolerance, these results show that compared with eucaloric high-carbohydrate intake, low carbohydrate diet with high-fat benefits metabolic syndrome (MetS) independent of whole-body or fat mass," concluded the authors.

To read the complete study follow the link: 10.1172/jci.insight.128308