Hormonal
A 6-week low-carbohydrate diet (10% carbohydrate) improves microvascular endothelial function (via increased nitric oxide contribution) in women with obesity, regardless of whether caloric restriction is applied.
If you are a woman with obesity, switching to a low-carbohydrate diet (around 10% of calories from carbs) for 6 weeks may improve the health of your small blood vessels (microvasculature) by increasing nitric oxide availability. This benefit happens whether or not you restrict your total calories and lose weight. However, this short-term change did not improve large artery (macrovascular) function. Focus on the quality of carbs and fats rather than just calorie counting for vascular health.
In conclusion, a 6-week LC diet, regardless of CR, may improve microvascular, but not macrovascular endothelial function, via increasing bioavailability of nitric oxide in women with obesity.
Why this rating
Randomized controlled trial with a small sample size (n=21) and short duration (6 weeks), but with rigorous mechanistic assessment (arteriolar biopsy).
Source
The Effect of Low-Carbohydrate Diet on Macrovascular and Microvascular Endothelial Function Is Not Affected by the Provision of Caloric Restriction in Women with Obesity: A Randomized Study
Chueh‐Lung Hwang et al. · Nutrients · 2020
DOI 10.3390/nu12061649
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