Carbs vs. protein vs. mono fats.Experts agree that it's a good idea to minimize bad fats (saturated and trans). But it's not clear whether to replace them with carbohydrates, protein, or monounsaturated monounsaturated /mono·un·sat·u·rat·ed/ (mon?o-un-sach´er-at?ed) of a chemical compound, containing one double or triple bond. mon·o·un·sat·u·rat·ed (m n fats. The OmniHeart Trial gave men and women with high blood pressure or pre-hypertension one of three diets that had roughly equal amounts of saturated fat, sodium, potassium, calcium, fiber, and calories. However: * the higher-protein diet had slightly more beans, low-fat dairy foods, poultry, and egg substitutes, * the higher-carb diet had more sweets and desserts and slightly more fruit and juices, and * the higher-mono diet had more fats and oils fats and oils, group of organic substances that form an important part of the diet and also are useful in many industries. The fats are usually solid, the oils generally liquid at ordinary room temperatures. Some tropical products, liquids in their sites of origin, become solids in cooler climates; in commerce these often retain the name originally given, e.g., palm oil and coconut oil. and slightly more vegetables. Compared to the higher-carb diet, the higher-protein diet lowered blood pressure, LDL ("bad") cholesterol, and triglycerides triglyceride /tri·glyc·er·ide/ (-glis´er-id) a compound consisting of three molecules of fatty acid esterified to glycerol; a neutral fat that is the usual storage form of lipids in animals. tri·glyc·er·ide (tr (that's all good), but it also lowered HDL ("good") cholesterol (that's bad). Compared to the higher-carb diet, the higher-mono diet lowered blood pressure and triglycerides and raised HDL cholesterol (that's all good) and had no effect on LDL. What to do: Either higher-protein or higher-mono diets beat higher-carb diets, say the authors. But their results might not apply to a higher-carb diet rich in whole grains rather than sweets and desserts. In any case, it makes sense to replace bad fats (in fatty meats, high-fat dairy, butter, etc.) with beans, vegetables, low-fat dairy foods, oils, and nuts instead of desserts, sweets, and fruit juices. But don't go overboard: none of these diets were extremely high or low in protein, fat, or carbs. Journal of the American Medical Association 294: 2455, 2497, 2005. |
|
||||||||||||||||||

n
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion