Hormonal
A 6-week very-low-calorie diet (VLCD) significantly improves flow-mediated endothelial vasodilation in overweight adults, with the magnitude of improvement directly correlated with the reduction in fasting plasma glucose levels.
If you are overweight and have endothelial dysfunction (a precursor to heart disease), a short-term, medically supervised very-low-calorie diet (approx. 580 kcal/day) for 6 weeks can significantly improve your blood vessel health. Crucially, this benefit is driven by lowering your blood glucose, not just by losing weight. Ensure you do not have diabetes or other contraindications before attempting this.
Flow-mediated vasodilation increased from 5.5%(+/-)3.7 to 8.8%(+/-)3.7% (P(<)0.0001)... The improvement in flow-mediated dilation was associated with the reduction in plasma glucose concentration (P(<)0.0003).
Why this rating
Randomized controlled trial design with objective physiological endpoints (ultrasound FMD) and rigorous multivariate adjustment, though limited by short duration (6 weeks) and lack of a non-diet control group.
Source
Weight Reduction With Very-Low-Caloric Diet and Endothelial Function in Overweight Adults: Role of Plasma Glucose
Maria Raitakari et al. · Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology · 2003
DOI 10.1161/01.atv.0000109749.11042.7c
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