Low carb diet- not that great for cholesterol!

While a low carbohydrate diet may help you lose weight, it may not be good for your blood cholesterol. A recent study showed that individuals who ate a diet low in carbs but relatively high in fat had the same amount of weight loss over 6 weeks as individuals who consumed a high carb diet.


What was shocking was that the level of bad cholesterol (LDL) also significantly increased in individuals who ate the low carb diet. The bad cholesterol is a risk factor for heart attacks, stroke and can clog up blood vessels in many other parts of the body.

Low carb diets are quite popular because there are reports that it may help lower blood sugars and help reduce weight.

However, this is the first study to show that low carb diets may not be as good as the high carb diets. Other finding of the study was that in the low carb diet group there was a greater release of free fatty acids into the blood stream. It is well known that high levels of free fatty acids make it very difficult for the liver to process and store glucose, which then raises blood sugar.

These data show that low carb diets with high fat may not be ideal for people who want to lose weight and those who are diabetic.

With so many diets being proposed on a weekly basis, the consumer is best advised to use a common sense approach- walk every day, do not smoke and eat healthy.