Research Update

Three interesting articles I found on the web.

This article compares a high protein diet with a high carb, high fiber diet and concludes the high protein diet was significantly better in helping women lose fat and lower blood pressure than the high carb, high fiber diet.  Note that the "high protein diet" was a low fat diet and relatively high in carbs:  30% protein, 40% carbs, 30% fat.  The high carb diet was 50% carbs (with more than 35 grams of dietary fiber), 20% protein and 30% fat.  So it was not really a "low carb" versus a high carb diet.  Still, it is interesting to note that despite all of the pro fiber voices out there, a diet lower in fiber and higher in protein still beat the high carb, high fiber diet.  I used to eat a lot of legumes (black, red, kidney, Great Northern, or garbanzo beans), because they were high in fiber.  But I have since learned that they are also very high in carbs (35 to 121 grams of carbs per one cup serving depending on the type of legume).  So the results of this study are not surprising.

Another article that is not really related to low carb diets suggests that extra weight at middle age leads to a greater likelihood of dementia when you are older.

Finally, a growing body of research confirms that the artificial sweetener Stevia can be used with confidence.  It has been in use in Europe for a while now.  Stevia is a naturally occurring sweetener found in herbs grown in Paraguay and Brazil.   Stevia is sold in the U.S. under the brand names Truvia and PureVia.