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A very low carbohydrate diet decreases constitutive inflammation, vascular chemokines and adhesion molecules
Author(s) -
Ballard Kevin David,
Fernandez Maria Luz,
Forsythe Cassandra E.,
Quann Erin E.,
Wood Richard J.,
Puglisi Michael J.,
Labonte Cherise C.,
Volk Brittanie M.,
Kraemer William J.,
Volek Jeff S.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.21.6.a1059-d
Subject(s) - chemokine , carbohydrate , endocrinology , medicine , inflammation , cell adhesion molecule , endothelial activation , chemistry , immunology
An early event in the development of atherosclerosis is vascular endothelial activation, a complex process regulated by the expression of a variety of chemokines and adhesion molecules. We previously found that guinea pigs fed high‐cholesterol atherogenic diets demonstrated significant increases in aortic inflammatory markers, an effect that was attenuated by reduction in dietary carbohydrate. We therefore hypothesized that dietary restriction of carbohydrate would lead to greater reductions in vascular inflammatory markers compared to a diet restricted in fat and saturated fat. We specifically tested the idea with a 12 wk prospective study comparing an ad libitum very low carbohydrate ketogenic diet (VLCKD) (1504 kcal: %CHO:fat:protein=12:59:28) and a low fat diet (LFD) (1478 kcal: %CHO:fat:protein=56:24:20) in 40 overweight subjects with atherogenic dyslipidemia. Concentrations of circulating cytokines, chemokines and adhesion molecules were determined to assess the diet‐induced inflammatory state and endothelial dysfunction. Both diets led to a significant reduction in the acute phase reactant C‐reactive protein (−23%). Compared to the LFD, the VLCKD resulted in significantly greater reductions in TNF‐α (−32 vs −12%), the chemokines IL‐8 (−33 vs 4%) and MCP‐1 (−24 vs −5%), and the adhesion molecules E‐selectin (−34 vs −14%) and I‐CAM (−17 vs −3%). These results indicate that dietary restriction of carbohydrate is more effective than reducing fat at improving circulating vascular inflammatory markers.