Research
Macro partitioning
A low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet leads to greater decreases in serum triglycerides and greater increases in HDL cholesterol compared to a low-fat diet, while LDL cholesterol changes are not statistically different between groups on average.
If you have high triglycerides or low HDL, a low-carbohydrate diet may improve these markers more effectively than a low-fat diet. While LDL may not change significantly on average, individual responses vary, so regular monitoring is recommended.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Compared with recipients of the low-fat diet, recipients of the low-carbohydrate diet had greater decreases in serum triglyceride levels... and greater increases in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels... Changes in low-density lipoprotein level did not differ statistically...
Why this rating
RCT data, but limited by short duration and confounding supplements.
Source
A Low-Carbohydrate, Ketogenic Diet versus a Low-Fat Diet To Treat Obesity and Hyperlipidemia
William S. Yancy et al. · Annals of Internal Medicine · 2004
DOI 10.7326/0003-4819-140-10-200405180-00006
rct · n=120Cited 943×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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