High protein diet reduces triglyceride fats
15 November 2002
A diet high in protein and low in fat reduces triglycerides in obese men and women and helps to preserve muscle in women, Australian research has shown for the first time.
Triglycerides and cholesterol are the two major fats in the bloodstream.
'It is the first study to show a high-protein diet has metabolic differences in terms of triglycerides and lean mass,' CSIRO health sciences and nutrition division director of clinical research Professor Peter Clifton said.
This research has found that high-protein diets are safe for bone, and the triglyceride finding could affect long-term impact on heart disease risk, he said.
The study of 43 obese women and 14 men with insulin resistance allocated one group to a low-fat, high-protein diet (27 per cent protein, mainly meat and dairy products) and the other to a low-fat, low protein (15-16 per cent) diet.
The 12-week diet restricted energy by 30 per cent followed by 4 weeks of energy balance.
Weight loss and insulin levels were the same in each group, but there were subtle metabolic differences in triglycerides in men and women, and lean mass in women, Professor Clifton will tell the American Heart Association conference later this month.
There was a significantly greater fall in triglycerides on the high-protein diet, from an average 1.9 mmol/L to 1.4 compared with 1.7 on the low-protein diet.
Women on the high-protein diet retained 1 to 1.5 kg more muscle. There were no differences in urinary markers of bone turnover between the two diets, the National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC)-funded study showed.
Last Reviewed: 14 November 2002
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