Comparing the
Mediterranean and Low Carb diets
When compared, the Mediterranean and Low Carb diets had some pretty different outcomes according to researchers.
The July 17, 2008 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, published a study by the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, comparing the two diets. Now, I'm always curious about what research like this really proves. And as always, I seem to be left with more questions than answers.
Mediterranean and Low Carb Diets setup
Over a two year period, an intensive study of 322 moderately obese people (BMI's of about 31 with an average age of 52 years) was conducted in their workplace. Of these participants 86% of the participants were men and only 10% of them were diabetic.
There were high levels of spousal and work support with even the workplace cafeteria being completely overhauled so that food choices were carefully controlled and labeled.
On-site dieticians worked regularly with participants to help them adhere to their diets. There was a medical clinic involved and ongoing electronic questionnaires participants completed. All these things meant the study had a very low drop-out rate.
Participants were randomly assigned to one of three diets groups:
• a low-fat diet with calorie restriction.
• a Mediterranean diet which has the highest level of dietary fiber and monounsaturated/saturated fat along with calorie restriction)
• or a low-carbo diet which had the lowest carbohydrates, but the highest fat, protein, and dietary cholesterol and no caloric restrictions.
Mediterranean and Low Carb Diet Results
Even though all research participants in the mediterranean and low carb diet conditions lowered their total daily calorie intake by similar amounts, their results were quite different after the two year period:
• The low-fat group had an adherence rate of 90%. On average this group lost 6.5 lbs. (2.9 kg) and improved their HDL levels (good cholesterol) by 12%.
• The Mediterranean group had an adherence rate of 85% and lost 10 lbs. (4.4 kg) and …..For diabetics this diet decreased their fasting glucose levels by 33mg/dL.
• The Low carb group had an adherence rate of 78% and lost 10.3lbs (4.7 kg) and improved HDl cholesterol by 20%, and also decreased triglycerides by 14%. But for diabetics this diet increased fasting glucose levels by 12mg.dL.
The questions I'm still asking
Well any research that has such a low dropout rate is normally to be applauded. But surely we can only applaud it if it is relatively easy to implement and replicate in our every day life?
After all, how many of you work in an isolated location where the cafeteria is going to change to suit your diet? How many of you are likely to have free ongoing nutritional guidance and motivation?
And finally, this Mediterranean and Low Carb diet study raises another important question for me. Um... it's about spousal involvement?
Let's face it, generally speaking women are brought up to be the supportive care-givers, especially in the areas of food purchasing and meal preparation. So I can’t help wondering just how high the spousal involvement have been if the study was 86% female instead of the other way around?
Personally, I’m still not convinced that studies comparing different diets are all that helpful except maybe to prove that there really is no one single diet that works for everyone. And that of course is precisely why I’m so anti diets and so much more in favor of helping people become tuned into the wisdom provided by their bodies.
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I can’t help wondering if we had more educational groups that helped people to be more body-wise if that wouldn't be money better spent (but hark - this was research funded by the Atkins -of low carb fame- foundations).
What would happen if we were taught ways to a) 'hear' our body and b) respond appropriately to it’s needs instead of having the waters muddied with diet x is better than diet y?
Wouldn’t we be a whole lot better off is, if we were finely tuned into our body – wouldn’t it ‘tell’ us when (let’s say):
• Dairy products give us a post nasal drip and in that way let us know that for our unique body, dairy products aren’t helpful, whereas for someone’s body might thrive on dairy?
• Very refined carbohydrates give us indigestion – our body’s way of telling us it doesn’t’ do well with that foodstuff.
• We aren’t getting a diet high enough in fiber because we’re constipated.
I can’t help wondering how different would be our world if, instead of trying to change what we eat by being diet-focussed we were more body-symptom-focused? But then I have to admit that I'm a great believer that our body is a biological masterpiece and that without all this cultural garbage we'd maybe be able to 'hear' it better, and live more naturally.
Besides which we all need a certain amount of fat in our diets - especially of the healthy kind. And I've done enough research into low carb diets and some of the problems they cause (for example bulimia that I wouldn't suggest them.
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