No Modification in Blood Lipoprotein Concentration but Changes in Body Composition After 4 Weeks of Low Carbohydrate Diet (LCD) Followed by 7 Days of Carbohydrate Loading in Basketball Players

Abstract

Recently, low carbohydrate diets have become very popular due to their numerous health benefits. Unfortunately, little is known about their chronic effects on the blood lipid profile and other cardiovascular disease risk factors in athletic populations. We compared the results of a four week, well-planned low carbohydrate diet (LCD) followed by seven days of carbohydrate loading (Carbo-L) on fasting lipids - triacylglycerol’s (TAG), LDL-C, HDL-C, total cholesterol (TCh), glucose, insulin and HOMA-IR levels in 11 competitive basketball players. During the experiment, we also measured body mass (BM) and body composition changes: body fat (BF), % of body fat (PBF), and fat free mass (FFM). Both diet procedures significantly changed the fasting serum concentration of TAG (p < 0.05) and body fat content (kg and %) (p < 0.05), without negative changes in FFM. The Carbo-L procedure increased (p < 0.05) fasting glucose levels significantly. A LCD may be suggested for athletes who want to reduce body mass and fat content without compromising muscle mass. Several weeks on a LCD does not change the lipoprotein - LDL-C and HDL-C level significantly, while a seven-day Carb-L procedure may increase body fat content and fasting glucose concentration. Such dietary procedures are recommended for team sport athletes to reduce fat mass, lipid profile disorders and insulin resistance.

The Effects of Low-Energy Moderate-Carbohydrate (MCD) and Mixed (MixD) Diets on Serum Lipid Profiles and Body Composition in Middle-Aged Men: A Randomized Controlled Parallel-Group Clinical Trial

“…After MixD, a significant decrease in tCh, LDL, and TG was recorded. These results confirm that both diets positively affected the lipid profile [4,9,11,19], although a more positive effect was observed after MCD. The significant increase in HDL-C observed after MCD indicates that this diet can be recommended for people with a low HDL-C concentration.…”

“…Excessive adipose tissue and lipoprotein disorders are substantial factors in the development of atherosclerosis, obesity, insulin resistance, and other diseases [5,6,[24][25][26]. In particular, elevated LDL-C, which is a strongly prominent factor in arteriosclerosis, will be oxidized, and this increases atherosclerotic changes in blood vessels [5,9,11]. In the past decade or two, numerous studies have been carried out on the impact of two diet models, low-calorie and low-carbohydrate diets, to reduce fat content and decrease the risk of dyslipidemia or insulin resistance in overweight and obese adults [3,6,9,11,18,19,24].…”

“…In particular, elevated LDL-C, which is a strongly prominent factor in arteriosclerosis, will be oxidized, and this increases atherosclerotic changes in blood vessels [5,9,11]. In the past decade or two, numerous studies have been carried out on the impact of two diet models, low-calorie and low-carbohydrate diets, to reduce fat content and decrease the risk of dyslipidemia or insulin resistance in overweight and obese adults [3,6,9,11,18,19,24]. Many researchers have shown that low-carbohydrate diets have a positive effect on triglyceride levels [9,18,19,[25][26][27][28], adipose tissue [9], blood glucose, and CRP concentration [9,26].…”

“…Despite our previous positive experience with a carbohydrate restriction diet-the low-carbohydrate diet and even the low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet-on lipid profile and body composition [4,9], in this study we decided to experiment with a moderate-carbohydrate diet that contained relatively higher amounts of carbohydrates, at 25%-45%, to compare with the low-carbohydrate and the ketogenic diets that contain 10%-25% and <10% carbohydrates, respectively. In our earlier studies, the participants included well-motivated athletes determined to achieve better body mass and composition to improve their performance.…”

“…They declare that both carbohydrate products and alcohol relax them, and they give them up reluctantly, despite their negative influence on health [5,6]. Most of them do not want to give up sweets, fast foods, and alcohol, and they are aware that these products are unhealthy [5,6,9]. In the past, we also experimented with a reduced-calorie diet [3,6].…”