(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Diets are no longer just fads! New research shows
following a low-carbohydrate diet, a low-fat diet or a Mediterranean diet helps
people reverse carotid atherosclerosis and lose weight.
Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the Nuclear Research Center
and Soroka Hospital in Israel say by following one of these three diets,
atherosclerosis, a condition that causes the arteries thicken with plaque
buildup, can be reversed.
Their study included 140 people, 88 percent of which were men. Researchers
compared all three diets among all obese patients over a two-year period. They
found a five percent regression in carotid vessel wall volume and 1.1 percent
decreases in carotid artery thickness.
Patients who had decreased vessel wall volume also experienced greater weight
loss, decreased blood pressure levels, improved homocysteine levels and
increases in good cholesterol.
Researchers say these findings indicate that moderately sustained weight loss
leads to improved heart health. Researchers warn that these findings may not be
applicable to other populations and gender-specific effects are still unknown
because so few women were used in the study.
SOURCE: Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, March 1, 2010
