Many carbohydrate-reduced diets have recently claimed remarkable results. But, a new one from a team of researchers in Jerusalem has been shown to help people lose weight and cut the risk of diabetes and heart disease. And, while many other diets can make similar claims, what sets this one apart is that the researchers believe that it’s an easier diet for people to start and, more importantly, stick to.
Carbohydrate-control diets work because they influence the hormones that control hunger and the hormones linked to metabolic syndrome. While earlier carbohydrate-control diets sought to use mathematical formulas to balance carbs, or even eliminate them altogether, the new diet from Jerusalem follows a simpler, more forgiving path.
The experimental diet restricts the intake of carbs to dinner only. It forbids the intake of carbs at any other time, but allows the dieter to let loose a little in the evening meal.
The diet was compared to a more traditional diet that controlled carb intake over the full day. The experiment lasted six months. The researchers studied the carb-dinner diet’s effect on three hormones. One was leptin, which makes you feel full, and is generally lower during the day and higher at night. Another was ghrelin, which is the hunger hormone, and it is higher during the day and lower at night. And, the third was adiponectin, which links obesity to insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.
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When carbs were restricted to dinner, leptin levels tended to go higher in daylight hours, with a drop-off in the late day. Ghrelin levels tended to peak in the evening hours. And, adiponectin was elevated. All of these effects are favorable to someone trying to stick to a diet. The diet also led to reduced hunger among the participants, better weight and body fat profiles, better blood sugar and cholesterol scores, and less inflammation than the control group.
Those findings indicate that there is an advantage in concentrating carbohydrate intake in the evening—especially for those at risk of diabetes or heart disease because of their weight. By choosing your foods wisely, you can actually change hormones in your body, and keep feelings of hunger at bay.
Sources for Today’s Articles:
A New Diet That’s Easier for Carb Lovers
Sofer, S., et al., “Changes in daily leptin, ghrelin and adiponectin profiles following a diet with carbohydrates eaten at dinner in obese subjects,” Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases 2012; DOI: 10.1016/j.numecd.2012.04.008.
Sofer, S., et al., “Greater Weight Loss and Hormonal Changes After 6 Months Diet With Carbohydrates Eaten Mostly at Dinner,” Obesity 2011; 19 (10): 2006 DOI: 10.1038/oby.2011.48.