Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Low carb beats diet pill in study

A low-carbohydrate diet is better at cutting blood pressure than weight-loss pills.Twice as many people on a low-carb diet lowered their blood pressure compared to those taking the drug, orlistat (Alli). The study, in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found the two approaches achieved equal weight loss and those who received counseling lost the most. Nearly half (47%) of those in the low-carbohydrate group were able to reduce or cut out their blood pressure medication, compared with around one fifth (21%) of those on orlistat plus a low-fat diet. It's important to know you can try a diet instead of medication and get the same weight loss results with fewer costs and potentially fewer side effects.

According to researchers: "The findings send an important message to people with high blood pressure who are trying to lose weight. "While weight loss typically induces improvements in blood pressure, it may be that the low-carbohydrate diet has an additional effect." "It's important to know you can try a diet instead of medication and get the same weight loss results with fewer costs and potentially fewer side effects."

The participants were offered regular group weight loss counseling throughout the study. Those who attended 15 or more sessions over the course of the year lost significantly more weight than the rest, shedding almost 15% of their body weight.


Bonnie - the results of this study presents no surprises for me.

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