Research
Macro partitioning
A low-carbohydrate diet provides superior long-term improvements in HDL cholesterol compared to a low-fat diet, even when weight loss is equivalent.
If you choose a low-carbohydrate diet, expect a significant boost in HDL (good) cholesterol, roughly double that of a low-fat diet. This metabolic benefit persists for at least 2 years. While weight loss is the same as low-fat, the lipid profile improvement is superior.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
An increase of approximately 20% in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels was observed in the low-carbohydrate diet group at 6 months and persisted throughout the study; this increase was more than twice that found in the low-fat diet group.
Why this rating
RCT with long duration and clear metabolic endpoints.
Source
Weight and Metabolic Outcomes After 2 Years on a Low-Carbohydrate Versus Low-Fat Diet
Gary D. Foster et al. · Obstetrical & Gynecological Survey · 2010
DOI 10.1097/ogx.0b013e31821342ba
rct · n=307Cited 8×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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