The effects of a low-carbohydrate diet on oxygen saturation in heart failure patients: a randomized controlled clinical trial.

In a parallel group randomized controlled clinical trial, 88 ambulatory patients were randomly assigned to a low-carbohydrate diet group (40% carbohydrates, 20% protein and 40% fats or a standard diet group (50% carbohydrates, 20% protein and 30% fats for two months. Diets were normocaloric in both groups.After two months of follow-up, the low-carbohydrate diet group decreased the carbohydrate consumption and had improved oxygen saturation (93.0 ± 4.4 to 94.6 ± 3.2, p = 0.02), while the standard diet group had decreased (94.90 ± 2.4 to 94.0 ± 2.9, p = 0.03).