LOW FAT VS. LOW CARB... AND THE WINNER IS...

People on a low-fat, plant-based diet ate fewer daily calories but had higher insulin and blood glucose levels compared to when they ate a low-carbohydrate, animal-based diet, according to a small but highly controlled study by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

"High-fat foods have been thought to result in excess calorie intake because they have many calories per bite. Alternatively, high-carb foods can cause large swings in blood glucose and insulin that may increase hunger and lead to overeating," says senior investigator and lead author Kevin Hall. "Our study was designed to determine whether high-carb or high-fat diets result in greater calorie intake."

The researchers housed 20 adults without diabetes for four continuous weeks. The participants, 11 men and nine women, received either a plant-based, low-fat diet or an animal-based, low-carbohydrate diet for two weeks, immediately followed by two weeks on the alternate diet. The low-fat diet was high in carbohydrates. The low-carbohydrate diet was high in fats. Both diets were minimally processed and had...