Carbohydrate Restriction has a More Favorable Impact on the Metabolic Syndrome than a Low Fat Diet
Abstract
We recently proposed that the biological markers improved by carbohydrate restriction were precisely those that define the metabolic syndrome (MetS), and that the common thread was regulation of insulin as a control element. We specifically tested the idea with a 12-week study comparing two hypocaloric diets (approximately 1,500 kcal): a carbohydrate-restricted diet (CRD) (%carbohydrate:fat:protein = 12:59:28) and a low-fat diet (LFD) (56:24:20) in 40 subjects with atherogenic dyslipidemia. Both interventions led to improvements in several metabolic markers, but subjects following the CRD had consistently reduced glucose (-12%) and insulin (-50%) concentrations, insulin sensitivity (-55%), weight loss (-10%), decreased adiposity (-14%), and more favorable triacylglycerol (TAG) (-51%), HDL-C (13%) and total cholesterol/HDL-C ratio (-14%) responses. In addition to these markers for MetS, the CRD subjects showed more favorable responses to alternative indicators of cardiovascular risk: postprandial lipemia (-47%), the Apo B/Apo A-1 ratio (-16%), and LDL particle distribution. Despite a threefold higher intake of dietary saturated fat during the CRD, saturated fatty acids in TAG and cholesteryl ester were significantly decreased, as was palmitoleic acid (16:1n-7), an endogenous marker of lipogenesis, compared to subjects consuming the LFD. Serum retinol binding protein 4 has been linked to insulin-resistant states, and only the CRD decreased this marker (-20%). The findings provi…
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An LDL-C increase is sometimes observed with carbohydrate restriction.
“and an LDL-C increase is sometimes observed (30–33).”
Other low-carbohydrate interventions report visceral fat reduction as a component of weight loss.
“This is consistent with other low-carbohydrate interventions reporting visceral fat reduction as a component of weight loss (30, 56, 66–68).”
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- Authors
- Volek, J. S., Phinney, S. D., Forsythe, C. E., Quann, E. E., Wood, R. J., Puglisi, M. J., Kraemer, W. J., Bibus, D. M., Fernandez, M. L., & Feinman, R. D.
- Affiliations
- University of Connecticut (US)
- University of California, Davis (US)
- University of Minnesota (US)
- School of Medicine University of California, Davis Davis CA USA
- SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Volek, Jeff S.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Lipids
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2008-12-12
- Volume
- 44
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 297-309
- ISSN
- 0024-4201 (ISSN-L)
- 1558-9307
- OpenAlex
- W2074560199
- Cited by
- 397
- References
- 12
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 31 · 2021: 30 · 2020: 39 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 27 · 2017: 30 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 23 · 2013: 19 · 2012: 24
- FWCI
- 12.22
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Lipids (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Connecticut
- Egg Nutrition Center
- State University of New York
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Diet and metabolism studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Dietary Effects on Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diet, Metabolism, and Disease
- Keywords
- carbohydrate restriction, metabolic syndrome, low-fat diet, hypocaloric diet, insulin sensitivity, insulin resistance, atherogenic dyslipidemia, postprandial lipemia, cardiovascular risk, weight loss, adiposity, retinol-binding protein 4, saturated fatty acids, palmitoleic acid, lipogenesis, dietary saturated fat
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Blood Glucose, Body Composition, Dietary Carbohydrates, Dietary Fats, Female, Humans, Insulin, Male, Middle Aged, Body Mass Index, Metabolic Syndrome, Caloric Restriction
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