Hormonal
A low-fat diet decreases HDL cholesterol levels by reducing HDL apolipoprotein A-I transport rates (synthesis/production), not by increasing catabolic rates.
If you switch to a low-fat diet to protect your heart, your HDL ('good') cholesterol numbers will likely drop by about 30%. Do not stop the diet because of this. The paper proves this drop happens because your body makes less HDL, not because it destroys it faster. This is a different, likely less dangerous, mechanism than having naturally low HDL. The benefit of lowering your 'bad' LDL cholesterol far outweighs the concern about the HDL number dropping.
In summary, diet-induced changes in HDL-C levels correlate with and may result from changes in apo A-I TR. In contrast, differences in HDL-C levels between people on a given diet correlate with and may result from differences in apo A-I FCR.
Why this rating
Randomized crossover trial with metabolic ward control, larger sample size (n=13) than previous studies, and rigorous kinetic measurements.
Source
A low-fat diet decreases high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels by decreasing HDL apolipoprotein transport rates.
Eliot A. Brinton et al. · Journal of Clinical Investigation · 1990
DOI 10.1172/jci114405
Related findings · Hormonal
- Initial treatment for type 2 diabetes should be a combination of metformin and either an SGLT-2 inhibitor or a GLP-1 receptor agonist to achieve cardiorenal protection, rather than monotherapy or older agents like sulfonylureas.Strong
- For patients with specific monogenic obesity syndromes (leptin deficiency, POMC/PCSK1/LEPR mutations), targeted pharmacotherapy (recombinant leptin or setmelanotide) is highly effective and should be prioritized, unlike in polygenic obesity.Strong
- Continued weekly administration of 2.4 mg subcutaneous semaglutide prevents weight regain and promotes further weight loss in adults with overweight or obesity, whereas switching to placebo results in significant weight regain.Strong
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →