Low-carb diets beat low-cal for cutting pounds and cancer risk
In keeping a careful record of what I ate and how much I weighed for months and months, I came to the conclusion that starches were a problem. I in effect moved toward a low-carb diet: 1/3 c servings of starch (regular starch serving is 1/2 c) and picked low-carb veggies: greens, onions, celery, zucchini, fennel, leeks, and the like, and not so much squash, corn, or the like.
Now Marni Jameson reports in the LA Times:
Following a low-carb diet, even for only two days a week, was better than following a calorie-restricted diet every day for losing weight and lowering insulin levels, which are both associated with lower risks of breast and other cancers, says a new study presented Dec. 8 at the American Cancer Research Society meeting in San Antonio.
“Weight loss and reduced insulin levels are required for breast cancer prevention, but are difficult to achieve and maintain with conventional dietary approaches,” said Michelle Harvie, a research dietitian at the Genesis Prevention Center, at University Hospital in South Manchester, England.
Harvie, who presented the findings, and her colleagues randomly assigned 115 women, who were all overweight or obese and who also had a family history of breast cancer, to one of three diets.
They were asked to follow either:
- a low-calorie, low-carbohydrate diet for two days a week
- a low-carbohydrate diet that allowed unlimited protein and healthy fats, such as lean meats, olives and nuts, also for two days per week
- a low-calorie, Mediterranean-type diet for seven days a week.
Those in the first group were allowed 650 calories on the two days of their regimen. Those in the first two groups were limited to fewer than 50 grams of carbs on their diet days. The third group was allowed 1,500 calories a day.
The women followed the diets for four months, and 88 completed the study. The highest dropout rate was among the . . .
