By now, I'm sure most everyone has heard or read the news that a new study has come out in The New England Journal of Medicine (July 17, 2008, volume 359) saying that low carb diets are more effective for weight loss than low fat diets. That's what all the headlines are saying. BUT, that's not exactly what the study concluded. What the study actually concluded was:
"Conclusions Mediterranean and low-carbohydrate diets may be effective alternatives to low-fat diets. The more favorable effects on lipids (with the low-carbohydrate diet) and on glycemic control (with the Mediterranean diet) suggest that personal preferences and metabolic considerations might inform individualized tailoring of dietary interventions. "
To me, that's saying something slightly different than what the headlines read. It's saying that low carb diets may be more effective as an alternative to low fat, that low carb did have show a better lipid profile, specifically Mediterranean diet showed a better glycemic profile, and that (to me this is the important part ) is that your diet should reflect your health needs and goals.
The reason why I make such a distinction is because I feel very strongly that although a lot of diet basics are the same: Eat less, exercise more, eat fresh wholesome foods, I get the willies when any headline comes out saying "This is the one and only way you can lose weight" or "This diet is the one and only one that works" which is the impression I got from most of the articles I read ABOUT the study before reading the study itself, which to me, confirmed common sense: we eat to live and that means we have to make our diet line up with our particular health needs.
For the complete text of the study, click here: Weight Loss Study.
I found the study's definition of the three diets extremely interesting especially since the way the study defined them differed from how I automatically defined them from my own experience and knowledge.