A tale of three diets

by Dr Norman Swan

An Israeli trial has compared three diets: a traditional-low fat/low-calorie diet, a reduced-calorie Mediterranean diet, and a low-carb diet.

11 08 2008

A trial of three diets has given us all flexibility in what to choose when we're looking for a spot of weight loss.

Carried out in Israel with a group of people who were mostly men and mostly obese, researchers randomly allocated them to various diets.

One was a traditional low-fat, low-calorie diet; another was a reduced-calorie Mediterranean diet boosted by almonds and fish; while the third was low-carb with no calorie control.

The trial lasted longer than most others: it went on for two years, with a high percentage of participants sticking with the program.

The good news was that all the diets worked, with the Mediterranean diet being better for weight loss and cholesterol control than the low-fat one, and the low-carb better still.

The Mediterranean diet was best for blood sugar control in people with diabetes.

And while most of the weight loss occurred in the first six months, the cholesterol and insulin levels kept on improving even though there was some rebound in the people's weight.

The main message is that you can tailor your weight loss/weight control diet. If you don't like watching calories then low-carb may be for you; if you've diabetes then head for the Med.