Celebrity diet could be safe
Low carbohydrate diets - favoured by such celebrities as Brad Pitt - could reduce rates of heart disease. American researchers found eating regimens such as the controversial Atkins' diet - which restricts carbohydrates but not fat or protein - cut dieters' chances of heart disease.
The research, the first controlled study of the Atkins' diet, examined 63 overweight people aged 44 who were divided into two groups: the Atkins' followers versus those who ate 60 per cent carbohydrates, 25 per cent fat and 15 per cent protein.
Atkins' participants increased their portion of 'good' cholesterol and cut the level of fatty 'bad' cholesterol in their blood compared to participants on low-fat, high-carb diets.
The protein and fat-rich diets, which allow dieters to eat butter, mayonnaise and steak, did not harm participants, with these dieters losing more weight than those on low-fat diets, said the New England Journal of Medicine.
After three months Atkins' dieters had lost more than double the weight of low-fat dieters, but after a year the differences in weight loss were minimal.
Experts have previously criticised the Atkins diet, arguing that it was not nutritionally balanced and could lead to long-term kidney damage.
|
