Excellent study that demonstrates both that very low-carb diets are quite healthy and that they can achieve high compliance. The outcomes on this study, after only 6 weeks, are quite good. A few tweaks would the results even better, but this is just a pilot study to look at brief outcomes and compliance.
From the open access
Nutrition Journal.
Antonio Paoli, Lorenzo Cenci and Keith A Grimaldi
Nutrition Journal 2011, 10:112 doi:10.1186/1475-2891-10-112
Published: 12 October 2011
Abstract (provisional)
Background
There has been increased interest in recent years in very low carbohydrate ketogenic diets (VLCKD) that, even though they are much discussed and often opposed, have undoubtedly been shown to be effective, at least in the short to medium term, as a tool to tackle obesity, hyperlipidemia and some cardiovascular risk factors. For this reason the ketogenic diet represents an interesting option but unfortunately suffers from a low compliance.. The aim of this pilot study is to ascertain the safety and effects of a modified ketogenic diet that utilizes ingredients which are low in carbohydrates but are formulated to simulate its aspect and taste and also contain phytoextracts to add beneficial effects of important vegetable components.
Methods
The study group consisted of 106 Rome council employees with a body mass index >25, age between 18 and 65 years (19 male and 87 female; mean age 48.49+/-10.3). We investigated the effects of a modified ketogenic diet based on green vegetables, olive oil, fish and meat plus dishes composed of high quality protein and virtually zero carbohydrate but which mimic their taste, with the addition of some herbal extracts (KEMEPHY ketogenic Mediterranean with phytoextracts). Calories in the diet were unlimited. Measurements were taken before and after 6 weeks of diet.
Results
There were no significant changes in BUN, ALT, AST, GGT and blood creatinine. We detected a significant (p<0.0001) reduction in BMI (31.45 Kg/m2 to 29.01 Kg/m2), body weight (86.15 kg to 79.43 Kg), percentage of fat mass (41.24 % to 34.99 %), waist circumference (106.56 cm to 97.10 cm), total cholesterol (204 mg/dl to 181 mg/dl), LDLc (150 mg/dl to 136 mg/dl), triglycerides (119 mg/dl to 93 mg/dl) and blood glucose (96 mg/dl to 91 mg/dl). There was a significant (p<0.0001) increase in HDLc (46 mg/dl to 52 mg/dl).
Conclusions
The KEMEPHY diet lead to weight reduction, improvements in cardiovascular risk markers, reduction in waist circumference and showed good compliance.
The complete article is available as a provisional PDF. The fully formatted PDF and HTML versions are in production.
1 comment:
In addition to poor compliance another problem with ketogenic as a dieting concept is rebound. For many people, going ketogenic CREATES greater carb intolerance and a return to eating any amount of carbs can cause very rapid weight gain and an unhappy cycle. A moderate, well-chosen carb diet avoids these pitfalls and may be healithier in the long-term. (Six weeks of keto might reduce your weight and LDL but over 25 years is it more healthful to the body's immune and other systems as compared to a more diverse diet? The jury is very much still out on that. Certainly we know it is possible to reduce weight and LDL using either kind of diet.)
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