Atkins Diet Proven to Lower Weight and cholesterol

A study has found that for people looking to lose weight and lower their level of cholesterol, a low- carbohydrate diet is best suited for them.

In one of the longest studies ever performed, researchers compared the effects of the popular Atkins diet with the Mediterranean, and more traditional diets, with the Atkins diet clearly showing to be more beneficial than the other diets.

The Atkins diet is centered around eating a very limited amount of carbs and a high quantity of fruits and vegetables, while the more traditional diet is simply confined to eating foods low in fat.

The Mediterranean diet is centered around eating a high amount of fruits and vegetables, and a limited amount of fatty foods.

The study featured 322 obese men and women with an average body mass index of 31. The low fat diet featured men eating 1800 calories a day while women ate 1500.

The group of participants consuming the Mediterranean diet consumed the same amount of calories as the traditional diet group, but also ate a lot of fruits and vegetables.

The Atkins group of participants could eat all the calories they wished, but had a limit on the amount of carbs they could consume.

A further surprise from the study is that the participants who followed the Atkins diet were able to safely lower their level of bad cholesterol, a fact not seen with the other two studies.

“We saw a reduction in weight in all three diets,” says Iris Shai, RD, PhD, the study’s lead author

“But we saw that other diet strategies, which are higher in fat proportions, like the Mediterranean diet, and the low-carb diet, even result in an increase in weight loss and improvement in blood lipids and blood glucose measurements.”

The study is published in The New England Journal of Medicine.