low-fat vs low-GI vs LCHF

wabmester

Very cool study posted in another thread on this site:

Effects of Dietary Composition on Energy Expenditure During Weight-Loss Maintenance

Cut to the chase:

The low-fat diet produced changes in energy expenditure and serum leptin that would predict weight regain. In addition, this conventionally recommended diet had unfavorable effects on most of the metabolic syndrome components studied herein.

In contrast, the very low-carbohydrate diet had the most beneficial effects on energy expenditure and several metabolic syndrome components, but this restrictive regimen may increase cortisol excretion and CRP. [stress hormone and inflammation marker -- bad news]

The low-glycemic index diet appears to have qualitatively similar, although smaller, metabolic benefits to the very low-carbohydrate diet, possibly without the deleterious effects on physiological stress and chronic inflammation.

Dragonwolf

Two things to note:

1. The low carb diet was arguably a tad low on fat (60%) and high on protein (30%). Given the effects of protein on the body when it tries to use protein as a fuel source, this may have contributed to the cortisol and CRP issues. That said, it's nice to see a study that uses truly low fat and truly low carb interventions.
2. The intervention only lasted 4 weeks. Barely enough time to get fully adapted to a LCHF diet. It'd be interesting to see CRP and cortisol numbers after 6+ weeks, when the subjects were fully into fat adaption.