systematic review · 2023 · landmark
“With regards to KD effects on lipid profiles, our results demonstrate an effective reduction in serum triglyceride levels with 3 months of lowered dietary carbohydrate intake, with even further reduction by month 12 [ 35 ].”
Effects of ketogenic diet on health outcomes: an umbrella review of meta-analyses of randomized clinical trials. BMC Med
Who: Participants of RCTs pooled in 17 meta-analyses of ketogenic diets: mostly adults with overweight or obesity with or without T2DM or dyslipidemia, plus athletes, adults with T2DM, healthy people, cancer patients and children with epilepsy; the high-quality TG findings are in adults with T2DM
PMID 37231411
pooled analysis · 2012
“Compared with participants on low-fat diets, those on low-carbohydrate diets experienced slightly but statistically significantly less reduction in total cholesterol (pooled mean net change, 2.7 mg/dL, 95% CI: 0.8, 4.6) and LDL cholesterol (pooled mean net change, 3.7 mg/dL, 95% CI: 1.0, 6.4) but a greater increase in HDL cholesterol (pooled mean net change, 3.3 mg/dL, 95% CI: 1.9, 4.7) and a greater decrease in triglycerides (pooled mean net change, −14.0 mg/dL, 95% CI: −19.4, −8.7).”
Effects of low-carbohydrate diets versus low-fat diets on metabolic risk factors: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials. Am J Epidemiol
Who: Adults (mean age 27-60, about 40% male), mostly obese or overweight without CVD or diabetes; 4 trials in diabetes, 1 in prediabetes, 1 in coronary heart disease
PMID 23035144
controlled trial · 2014
“Serum levels of triglycerides also decreased significantly in both groups, with greater decreases among participants in the low-carbohydrate group (mean difference in change at 12 months, −0.16 mmol/L [−14.1 mg/dL] [CI, −0.31 to −0.01 mmol/L {−27.4 to −0.8 mg/dL}]; P = 0.038) (Table 3, Figure 2, and Appendix Figure).”
Effects of low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets: a randomized trial. Ann Intern Med
Who: 148 men and women aged 22-75 with BMI 30-45 kg/m2 without clinical CVD, type 2 diabetes or kidney disease (mean age 46.8, 88% female, 51% black), New Orleans
PMID 25178568
controlled trial · 2014
“Specifically, the low-carbohydrate, high–glycemic index diet compared with the high-carbohydrate, high–glycemic index diet lowered triglycerides from 111 to 90 mg/dL (−18%, P ≤ .001); and the low-carbohydrate, low–glycemic index diet, compared with the high-carbohydrate, low–glycemic index diet, lowered triglycerides from 108 to 87 mg/dL (−20%, P ≤ .001) (Figure 3 and Table 3).”
Effects of high vs low glycemic index of dietary carbohydrate on cardiovascular disease risk factors and insulin sensitivity: the OmniCarb randomized clinical trial. JAMA
Who: 163 overweight or obese adults aged 30 or older (mean age 53, 52% women, 51% black) with systolic blood pressure 120-159 mm Hg, without CVD, diabetes or CKD and not on lipid or blood pressure drugs
PMID 25514303
controlled trial · 2021
“Triglycerides also presented a significant time × diet interaction (p < 0.001), in which lipids significantly decreased in the KD group (−17.44 ± 7.16%; p < 0.0001) but not in the WD group (−1.59 ± 5.50%).”
Effects of Two Months of Very Low Carbohydrate Ketogenic Diet on Body Composition, Muscle Strength, Muscle Area, and Blood Parameters in Competitive Natural Body Builders. Nutrients
Who: 19 male competitive natural bodybuilders aged 20-40 (mean 27.4, BMI 26.8) with at least five years of training, no steroids or metabolic disorders
PMID 33530512
controlled trial · 2022
“Changes in triglycerides (P = 0.002) and HDL cholesterol (P = 0.02) favored Low-Carb compared with High-Carb.”
Effects of a low-carbohydrate diet on insulin-resistant dyslipoproteinemia-a randomized controlled feeding trial. Am J Clin Nutr
Who: Adults aged 18-65 with BMI >=25 (70% female, mean BMI 32.4, median age 35) without known CVD or diabetes, after 10-14% weight loss, in the Framingham State Food Study
PMID 34582545
pooled analysis · 2020
“Compared with those of the control group, the triglyceride levels of the experimental group decreased by 0.15mmol/l (95% CI -0.23 to -0.07) (Fig 3); low-carbohydrate diet interventions lasting less than 6 months decreased these levels by 0.23mmol/l (95% CI -0.32 to -0.15), and those of 12–23 months decreased the levels by 0.17mmol/l (95% CI -0.32 to -0.01).”
The effects of low-carbohydrate diets on cardiovascular risk factors: A meta-analysis. PLoS One
Who: Adults aged 31-65 with no specific diseases in RCTs from the USA, Australia, UK, Israel and China
PMID 31935216
pooled analysis · 2020
“Overall, TAG concentrations significantly decreased in the very-low CHO group (−0.27 mmol/L, 95% CI −0.43 to −0.10 mmol/L, p = 0.001, Figure 4).”
The Effects of Different Degrees of Carbohydrate Restriction and Carbohydrate Replacement on Cardiometabolic Risk Markers in Humans-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nutrients
Who: Free-living adults in RCTs, including healthy volunteers, overweight or obese people, people with type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome components or elevated TAG
PMID 32252374