Among patients with type 2 diabetes, after 1 year a low-carbohydrate diet had effects on weight and A1C similar to those seen with a low-fat diet. There was no significant effect on blood pressure, but the low-carbohydrate diet produced a greater increase in HDL cholesterol. Weight loss occurred faster in the low-carbohydrate group than in the low-fat group in the first 3 months.
Category: Diabetes
Effect of a Low-Carbohydrate Diet on Appetite, Blood Glucose Levels, and Insulin Resistance in Obese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes
In a small group of obese patients with type 2 diabetes, a low-carbohydrate diet followed for 2 weeks resulted in spontaneous reduction in energy intake to a level appropriate to their height; weight loss that was completely accounted for by reduced caloric intake; much improved 24-hour blood glucose profiles, insulin sensitivity, and hemoglobin A1c; and decreased plasma triglyceride and cholesterol levels.
Dietary Strategies For Patients With Type 2 Diabetes in the Era of Multi-approaches; Review and Results From the Dietary Intervention Randomized Controlled Trial (DIRECT)
Patients who were randomized to the low-carbohydrate diet achieved a significant reduction of hemoglobin A1C. Some recent trials have shown that low carbohydrate diets are as efficient in inducing weight loss and in some metabolic measures such as serum triglycerides and HDL-cholesterol may be even superior to low fat diets.
Systematic review and meta-analysis of different dietary approaches to the management of type 2 diabetes
Low-carbohydrate are as effective as low-GI, Mediterranean, and highproteindiets in improving various markers of cardiovascular risk in people with diabetes and should be considered in the overall strategy of diabetes management.
Dietary Carbohydrate Restriction in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Metabolic Syndrome: Time For a Critical Appraisal
Experiments are summarized showing that carbohydrate-restricted diets are at least as effective for weight loss as low-fat diets and that substitution of fat for carbohydrate is generally beneficial for risk of cardiovascular disease. These beneficial effects of carbohydrate restriction do not require weight loss. Finally, the point is reiterated that carbohydrate restriction improves all of the features of metabolic syndrome.