[Interesting implications concerning Paleo, ketosis, and primarily meat-based
diets.]

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-26-2002/0001789585&EDATE=


New Studies Confirm Calorie Reduction Not Only Reason Atkins Nutritional
Approach(TM) Works

     Other metabolic aspects of controlled carbohydrate nutrition impact
           on fat loss, and reduction of heart disease risk factors

    NEW YORK, Aug. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Two recently published studies show that
ketosis, the controversial metabolic process at the heart of the Atkins
Nutritional Approach(TM), may not only be harmless but may also be beneficial.
One study demonstrated that subjects in ketosis, due to a controlled
carbohydrate diet, experienced statistically significant improvement in blood
markers that have been shown to predict coronary artery disease.
    The second study found that people lost fat (an average of seven lbs.),
while actually gaining muscle (an average of two lbs.) in only six weeks.  In
essence these individuals lost an average of five lbs. not only preserving
their muscle mass, but also increasing it.
    "The commonly held belief that reducing calories is the only reason
controlled carbohydrate nutrition produces fat loss appears to be false,"
explains the principal investigator, Jeff Volek, Ph.D., R.D., FACN.  "In fact,
the metabolic process, ketosis, that results from a properly conducted
controlled carbohydrate weight loss program, may prove to be as much a factor
in fat loss and reduction of cardiovascular disease risk factors as calorie
reduction.  And one of the studies even demonstrated a simultaneous increase
in lean muscle mass along with the loss in fat."
    Both published studies come out of the University of Connecticut's Human
Performance Laboratory and were conducted on normal-weight men with normal
cholesterol levels.
    The first study, "A Ketogenic Diet Favorably Affects Serum Biomarkers for
Cardiovascular Disease in Normal-Weight Men," published in the July 2002 issue
of the Journal of Nutrition, shows that ketosis is not only harmless but may
actually improve the blood markers that have been shown to predict coronary
artery disease.
    The six-week study examined the effects of a ketogenic diet on the insulin
levels, LDL (bad cholesterol), LDL particle size (smaller particles are more
atherogenic or damaging to the arteries), HDL (good cholesterol),
triglycerides (TG), and post-meal TG (TG -- the value of elevated post-meal
TAG as a predictor of cardiovascular disease has been demonstrated in numerous
studies) of 20 normal-weight, healthy men.
    The results showed that fasting TG was decreased by 33%, post-meal lipids
by 29%, LDL particle size increased, and fasting insulin concentrations by 34%
after the low carb diet.  LDL and total cholesterol were unchanged by the
diet, HDL (the good cholesterol) tended to be slightly increased, suggesting a
favorable outcome in this predictor of improved cardiovascular risk.
    The second study, "Body Composition and Hormonal Responses to a
Carbohydrate Restricted Diet," published in the July 2002 issue of Metabolism,
examined how the normal-weight body responds to six weeks of a controlled
carbohydrate diet (8% carbohydrate, 61% fat, 30% protein) compared with a
traditional diet (47% carbohydrate, 32% fat, 17% protein) that involved equal
caloric intake.  At week six, this study, with 12 subjects, found that people
lost fat (an average of seven lbs.), while actually gaining muscle (an average
of two lbs.).  The average weight loss of five lbs. was achieved while not
only preserving muscle mass, but also increasing it.  Because this positive
change occurred in conjunction with lowered insulin levels (a hormone measured
in the blood that is stimulated by carbohydrate intake and has been associated
with the conversion of excess carbohydrate to body fat), it is postulated that
the reduction in the hormone insulin was responsible for this.
    The studies were supported by a grant from the Dr. Robert C. Atkins
Foundation.  Established in 1999, the Foundation is a private, non-profit
foundation dedicated to improving the way medicine is practiced in the United
States by scientifically validating the safety and efficacy of complementary
and alternative medicine approaches.

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SOURCE University of Connecticut