Originally published January 24 2006
Low-sugar diets may help those with high insulin levels lose weight
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Dr. Anastassios G. Pittas, from Tufts-New England Medical Center, has led a study that found low-sugar diets stimulate weight loss in people with high levels of insulin much better than sugar-rich diets.
However, dietary sugar load or "glycemic load" makes no difference when insulin secretion is relatively low, according to the team.
These findings, the investigators note, "offer the first evidence that simple indexes of insulin secretion may help enhance weight loss success in overweight individuals through the use of targeted dietary recommendations specific for insulin secretion status".
With insulin resistance, the body does not use the normal amount of insulin secreted by the pancreas properly, causing the pancreas to secrete more insulin.
Because both resistance to insulin and insulin secretion are involved in the regulation of body weight, Dr Anastassios G Pittas, from Tufts-New England Medical Centre, and associates theorized that dietary glycemic (sugar) load could influence the effect of a diet designed to lose weight.
To test their theory, they assigned 32 healthy overweight adults to a high-glycemic load diet (glycemic load 116 g/1000 kcal) or a low-glycemic load diet (glycemic load 45 g/1000 kcal).
Calories were restricted 30 per cent compared with baseline individual energy needs for 6 months.
For those with high insulin secretion, the low glycemic load diet was associated with significantly greater weight loss than the alternative diet.
Although the opposite pattern was observed among those with low insulin secretion, the results did not reach statistical significance.
The authors note that there are probably a number of mechanisms that could explain these results.
High-glycemic load diets increase post-meal "hyperinsulinemia, which favours fatty acid uptake, inhibition of lipolysis, and energy storage leading to weight gain," they note.
They also suggest that a high glycemic load may also increase hunger and thus increase eating during the postabsorptive period.
All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml