Healthy Blood Vessel Blog

Low carb not good for improving endothelial health

As much as i used to like low carb diets, they are not good for improving endothelial health. Low fat diets are much better, and those fats should be from good sources like fish, flax and olive oil. In addtion, lignans Sesame can improve blood vessle health. Read the entire study linked below. the discussion section is very good.

http://hyper.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/51/2/376?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=Gutterman&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&volume=51&issue=2&resourcetype=HWCIT

Obesity is associated with impaired endothelial-dependent flow-mediated dilation, a precursor to hypertension and atherosclerosis. Although dieting generally improves cardiovascular risk factors, the direct effect of different dietary strategies on vascular endothelial function is not known. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that a low-fat (LF) diet improves endothelial function compared with an isocaloric low-carbohydrate (LC) diet. Obese (n=20; body mass index: 29 to 39; mean systolic blood pressure: 107 to 125 mm Hg) and otherwise healthy volunteers were randomly assigned to either the American Heart Association modeled LF (30% fat calories) diet or an isocaloric LC Atkins’ style diet (20 g of carbohydrates) for 6 weeks (4-week weight loss and 2-week maintenance phase). Brachial flow-mediated dilation and dilation to nitroglycerin were measured with ultrasound using automated edge detection technology (baseline, week 2, and week 6). Blood pressure, weight loss, and cholesterol profiles were measured throughout the study. Weight loss was similar in LF (100±4 to 96.1±4 kg; P<0.001)> (95.4±4 to 89.7±4 kg; P<0.001)> pressure decreased similarly in both groups (LF: 8/5 mm Hg; LC: 12/6 mm Hg) at 6 weeks. After 6 weeks, the percentage of flow-mediated dilation improved (1.9±0.8; P<0.05) in the LF diet but was reduced in the LC diet (–1.4±0.6; P<0.05)> panels was similar at 0, 2, and 6 weeks. Despite similar degrees of weight loss and changes blood pressure, LF diets improved brachial artery flow-mediated dilation over LC diets. LF diets may confer greater cardiovascular protection than LC diets.

posted by jeff.check @ 12:34 AM