BOSTON, Aug 25, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- U.S. researchers say low-carbohydrate,
high protein diets increased atherosclerosis in mice.
The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
found mice fed the 12 percent carbohydrate, 43 percent fat, 45 percent protein
diets were more likely to show vascular damage then mice fed standard diets with
65 percent carbohydrate, 15 percent fat, 20 percent protein -- or even the
"Western diet" diet of 43 percent carbohydrates 42 percent fat and 15 percent
protein.
The researchers note the vascular damage took place in the animals fed the
low-carb diet. However, their standard markers of cardiovascular risk such as
cholesterol levels stayed the same.
"It's very difficult to know in clinical studies how diets affect vascular
health," senior study author Dr.Anthony Rosenzweig of Boston's Beth Israel
Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School says in a statement.
"We, therefore, tend to rely on easily measured serum markers such as
cholesterol, which have been surprisingly reassuring in individuals on
low-carbohydrate/high-protein diets, who do typically lose weight. But our
research suggests that, at least in animals, these diets could be having adverse
cardiovascular effects that are not reflected in simple serum markers."
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