Long Term Effects of Ketogenic Diet in Obese Subjects with High Cholesterol Level
Some headlines just seem to catch us by surprise. We’re always complaining that none of these dietary studies seem to include people who really restrict their carbohydrates. They call “low-carb” 40 grams and even 60 grams per day and this doesn’t fit the “low-carb” definition of anyone I know. But when you begin to talk “ketogenic” diets, now you have my attention. In the words of one of discussion forum moderators:
“Why in the world would the results of this study not be on the front page of every newspaper? “These people became healthier by every measure. Yet this is the type of diet we are told will kill us. Do the mainstream health professionals not read these studies? Or do they read them and then ignore them because they do not fit with what they think they already know?”
This about says it all. So what is he so excited about? Various studies have convincingly shown the beneficial effect of ketogenic diet (in which the daily consumption of carbohydrate is less than 20 grams, regardless of fat, protein and caloric intake) in reducing weight in obese subjects. However, its long term effect on obese subjects with high total cholesterol (as compared to obese subjects with normal cholesterol level is lacking. It is believed that ketogenic diet may have adverse effect on the lipid profile. Therefore, in this study the effect of ketogenic diet in obese subjects with high cholesterol level above 6 mmol/L is compared to those with normocholesterolemia for a period of 56 weeks.
Sounds exciting to me. Of course, most of you wouldn’t actually know that such a diet was so successful reducing weight in obese subject because we rarely hear of this. The experts have so successfully spread their religion of low-fat and exercise that everything else seems to get drowned out. But beneath the layers, right in their beloved medical journals (that never seem to get read it seems) lies true treasures if one is looking for them.
In this study, 66 healthy obese subjects with body mass index (BMI) greater than 30, having high cholesterol level (Group I; n = 35) and those subjects with normal cholesterol level (Group II; n = 31) were selected. The body weight, body mass index, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, urea, creatinine, glucose and triglycerides were determined before and after the administration of the ketogenic diet. Changes in these parameters were monitored at 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48 and 56 weeks of the treatment.
Results: The body weight and body mass index of both groups decreased significantly (P < 0.0001). The level of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and blood glucose level decreased significantly (P < 0.0001), whereas HDL cholesterol increased significantly (P < 0.0001) after the treatment in both groups.
Conclusion: This study shows the beneficial effects of ketogenic diet following its long term administration in obese subjects with a high level of total cholesterol. Moreover, this study demonstrates that low carbohydrate diet is safe to use for a longer period of time in obese subjects with a high total cholesterol level and those with normocholesterolemia.
Now, those of us who avoid carbohydrates have found these results in our own bodies. This particular study did not examine individuals on a zero-carb diet, but one in which carbohydrates were severely restricted. Do you really think there is much nutrition in 20 grams of carbohydrates? That’s about two cups of salad very loosely packed. Everyone knows there is not much nutrition there and any potential nutrients in vegetables would require cooking before they would be extracted by humans. Plants have their own protective parts that serve them very well.
The point is that you don’t have to be some expert in nutritional science to get these benefits just like they did in the study. Just change your diet and eat like I do and you will see improvements like so many of us have already experienced.
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on December 1, 2009 at 7:36 pm
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So why isn’t this shouted from the rooftops? Why are we still being fed the same lies by our medical “experts”? Why are people still dying needlessly? Has conventional wisdom got so much momentum it can’t be stopped? I hope not. I look forward to the day when my WOE is the norm and not the extreme exception.
Alan.
on December 5, 2009 at 6:44 pm
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