Which Diets Work Best At Melting Fat?
"Diets based on low-glycemic index, whole-grain products tend to be better for the heart, maximizing cardiovascular risk reduction, particularly if protein intake is high," says Joanna McMillan-Price, a nutritionist at the University of Sydney's Human Nutrition Unit.
McMillan-Price and other Australian researchers say that while they couldn't find any one diet that fits all weight-loss and healthy-eating goals, the high-carb, low-index diets beat out high glycemic index or high-protein diets at helping people shed fat.
Diabetics also use the glycemic index to ensure they don't consume food that will affect their insulin levels.
Foods with a low glycemic index include cereals based on oats, barley and bran; whole grain and sourdough breads; and rice.Foods with high glycemic indexes include potatoes and white bread.
Doubled fat loss
McMillan-Price and Jeannie Brand-Miller, also a nutritionist at the Human Nutrition Unit, say their study is the first to compare the effects of the glycemic index and high-protein diets on weight loss and the risk of heart disease.
Their findings come after 129 overweight or obese adults 18 to 40 ate four different types of diets for 12 weeks. Two diets were high carbs, and the other two were high in protein. Half had foods high on the glycemic index, while the others were low on the index.
According to the results, people on all four diets averaged losing between 4.2 and 6.2 pounds, even on high-protein diets. But the high-carb, low-glycemic diets doubled fat loss, especially in women.
In addition, high-carb, low-glycemic diets performed better at lowering levels of total and LDL "bad" cholesterol. High levels of total and "bad" cholesterol are major risk factors for heart disease, health experts warn.
McMillan-Price and Brand-Miller wrote The Low GI Diet Revolution. Brand-Miller also helped write The New Glucose Revolution book series.
Source: Archives of Internal Medicine
Cheers,
Eve :-)
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