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30.03.2019

Fed up with your low-carbohydrate diet for a moment? Resist the urge to feast on carbs

Maintaining a weight loss diet becomes easier if you allow yourself to eat what you want for a day. It is better to forget that principle if you have opted for a low carb weight loss diet, report Canadian exercise scientists at the University of British Columbia. Experimenting with students, they discovered that, when are on a low carbohydrate diet, indulging your cravings for carbs may damage your blood vessels.

Study
The researchers gave 9 healthy men a low-carbohydrate diet for 2 weeks. The composition is shown below.

Before and just after that period, the students received 75 grams of glucose dissolved in water. The researchers then determined the effect of the glucose on the flexibility of the blood vessels. They also determined the concentration in the blood of specific particles that indicate damage to the blood vessels.

Results
After the glucose intake, the flexibility of the blood vessels decreased. This happened to an equal extent before the subjects started eating low carbohydrates, and afterwards. The low-carbohydrate diet reduced the suppleness of the blood vessels as well.

That effect was not so alarming. The effect of glucose administration during the low carbohydrate diet on the concentration of the CD31+CD42b- and the CD62E+ endothelial microparticles was a cause for concern however. It rose.

Conclusion
"The ketogenic or keto diet has become very common for weight loss or to manage diseases like type 2 diabetes", says researcher Jonathan Little in a press release. [sciencedaily.com March 27, 2019] "It consists of eating foods rich in fats, moderate in protein, but low in carbohydrates and it causes the body to go into a state called ketosis."

"We were interested in finding out what happens to the body's physiology once a dose of glucose is reintroduced", continues first author Cody Durrer. "Since impaired glucose tolerance and spikes in blood sugar levels are known to be associated with an increased risk in cardiovascular disease, it made sense to look at what was happening in the blood vessels after a sugar hit."

"We were originally looking for things like an inflammatory response or reduced tolerance to blood glucose. What we found instead were biomarkers in the blood suggesting that vessel walls were being damaged by the sudden spike in glucose."

"Even though these were otherwise healthy young males, when we looked at their blood vessel health after consuming the glucose drink, the results looked like they might have come from someone with poor cardiovascular health", says Little. "It was somewhat alarming."

"My concern is that many of the people going on a keto diet, whether it's to lose weight, to treat Type 2 diabetes, or some other health reason, may be undoing some of the positive impacts on their blood vessels if they suddenly blast them with glucose. Especially if these people are at a higher risk for cardiovascular disease in the first place."

"Our data suggests a ketogenic diet is not something you do for six days a week and take Saturday off."

Source:
Nutrients. 2019 Feb 26;11(3).

More:
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High blood sugar level makes you look older 22.01.2012

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Low Carb Diets

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