Very Low-Carb Diet Improves Risk Factors in Adults With Comorbidities

FRIDAY, May 26, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- For adults with hypertension, prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, and overweight or obesity, a very low-carbohydrate (VLC) diet results in significantly greater improvements in risk factors over four months than the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, according to a study published in the May/June issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.

Laura R. Saslow, Ph.D., from University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues randomly assigned 94 adults with triple multimorbidity (hypertension, prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, and overweight or obesity) to a VLC diet or the DASH diet for a four-month period.

The researchers found that compared with the DASH diet, the VLC diet led to greater improvement in estimated mean systolic blood pressure (–9.77 versus –5.18 mm Hg), greater improvement in glycated hemoglobin (–0.35 versus –0.14 percent), and greater improvement in weight (–19.14 versus –10.34 lb). The addition of extra support (mindful eating, positive emotion regulation, social support, and cooking) did not significantly affect outcomes.

"These results provide initial evidence that a VLC dietary pattern might be more appropriate than the DASH dietary pattern for short-term disease management for these high-risk adults, and thus might have implications for clinical practice guidelines," the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text