Low Carb Good for Cholesterol Levels?

There has been so much debate over the years about which kind of diet has the best long term weight loss benefits, as well as the best overall health benefits. While low fat diets vs. low carb diets has been a raging debate for years, apparently one aspect of one of them is now not subject for debate.

The low carb diet, similar to what you would do on the Atkins diet, where fat doesn’t matter so much, but rather the carbs matter more, actually not only resulted in about the same sustained weight loss and maintenance over a period of two years, but it also improved cholesterol levels impressively.

So impressively that it has caused researchers to really reconsider whether or not the low carb diet, which was at first praised when it was all the rage over this last decade, but then vilified for it’s potential health hazards, is actually better for you in the long run or not.

The study that made the cholesterol connection was actually done on obese people who had followed the two different diets. They both followed the same habits otherwise, and both groups actually lost the same amount of weight over those two years and kept it off. However, the one major difference was that those who followed the low carb diets had much better cholesterol readings. Makes you consider those low carb diets once again, eh?

My husband and I did the low carb thing for a few years on and off until we finally fell off the wagon pretty permanently in favor of savoring some high carb meals which were lower in fat.  I have to say that going low carb is still the best way for me to drop weight very quickly. I especially notice a difference in the weight loss I experience as well as the speed at which I lose it if I make sure I’m eating low carb at least for dinner. For example, I’ll have say a hamburger patty with no bun and a small side dish of veggies and a small side salad.

Although that burger patty may have a lot of fat in it, I will drop weight pretty much over night just from eating no carbs, so there is something to it. What I never liked about being on the low carb diet was how often you had to “refuel” because your blood sugar would always be low and you felt like you were going to bite someone’s head off!  That part was never fun. And if you aren’t careful, you will get constipated. You have to make sure you’re still getting enough healthy fiber when on a low carb diet.