Low-Carbohydrate Diets
Authors: Dean Ornish
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2004)

Letters2 November 2004Low-Carbohydrate DietsDean Ornish, MDDean Ornish, MDFrom University of California, San Francisco, and Preventive Medicine Research Institute, Sausalito, CA 94965.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-141-9-200411020-00022 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Although purporting to show that a low-carbohydrate “Atkins” diet is more beneficial than a conventional “low-fat” American Heart Association/National Cholesterol Education Program (AHA/NCEP) diet, the studies by Yancy and Stern and coworkers (1, 2) showed that neither diet effectively decreases weight or levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. In both studies, LDL cholesterol levels did not change significantly and there were no significant differences in weight after 1 year (only about 3% weight loss). Similar findings were also seen in an earlier study (3).The conventional AHA/NCEP “low-fat” diet is not very low in fat or cholesterol ...References1. Yancy WS, Olsen MK, Guyton JR, Bakst RP, Westman EC. A low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet versus a low-fat diet to treat obesity and hyperlipidemia: a randomized, controlled trial. Ann Intern Med. 2004;140:769-77. [PMID: 15148063] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Stern L, Iqbal N, Seshadri P, Chicano KL, Daily DA, McGrory J, et al . The effects of low-carbohydrate versus conventional weight loss diets in severely obese adults: one-year follow-up of a randomized trial. Ann Intern Med. 2004;140:778-85. [PMID: 15148064] LinkGoogle Scholar3. Foster GD, Wyatt HR, Hill JO, McGuckin BG, Brill C, Mohammed BS, et al . A randomized trial of a low-carbohydrate diet for obesity. N Engl J Med. 2003;348:2082-90. [PMID: 12761365] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Ornish D. Intensive lifestyle changes in the management of coronary heart disease.. In: Braunwald E, eds. Harrison's Advances in Cardiology. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2002. Google Scholar5. Ornish D, Scherwitz LW, Billings JH, Brown SE, Gould KL, Merritt TA, et al . Intensive lifestyle changes for reversal of coronary heart disease. JAMA. 1998;280:2001-7. [PMID: 9863851] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. Ornish D. Was Dr Atkins right? J Am Diet Assoc. 2004;104:537-42. [PMID: 15054336] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar7. Esselstyn CB. Updating a 12-year experience with arrest and reversal therapy for coronary heart disease (an overdue requiem for palliative cardiology). Am J Cardiol. 1999;84:339-41, A8. [PMID: 10496449] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. Gould KL, Ornish D, Scherwitz L, Brown S, Edens RP, Hess MJ, et al . Changes in myocardial perfusion abnormalities by positron emission tomography after long-term, intense risk factor modification. JAMA. 1995;274:894-901. [PMID: 7674504] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar9. Fleming RM. The effect of high-protein diets on coronary blood flow. Angiology. 2000;51:817-26. [PMID: 11108325] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar10. Connor WE, Connor SL. Should a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet be recommended for everyone? The case for a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet. N Engl J Med. 1997;337:562-3. [PMID: 9262503] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Dean Ornish, MDAffiliations: From University of California, San Francisco, and Preventive Medicine Research Institute, Sausalito, CA 94965. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoA Low-Carbohydrate, Ketogenic Diet versus a Low-Fat Diet To Treat Obesity and Hyperlipidemia William S. Yancy Jr. , Maren K. Olsen , John R. Guyton , Ronna P. Bakst , and Eric C. Westman The Effects of Low-Carbohydrate versus Conventional Weight Loss Diets in Severely Obese Adults: One-Year Follow-up of a Randomized Trial Linda Stern , Nayyar Iqbal , Prakash Seshadri , Kathryn L. Chicano , Denise A. Daily , Joyce McGrory , Monica Williams , Edward J. Gracely , and Frederick F. Samaha Low-Carbohydrate Diets Frederick F. Samaha and Linda Stern Metrics 2 November 2004Volume 141, Issue 9Page: 738KeywordsCarbohydratesCholesterolDietFatsHigh density lipoproteinLegumesLongitudinal studiesLow density lipoproteinMedical risk factorsStable coronary artery disease ePublished: 2 November 2004 Issue Published: 2 November 2004 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2004 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...