Hypotensive Effect of Low-Fat, High-Carbohydrate Diet Can Be Independent of Changes in Plasma Insulin Concentrations

• Published in: Hypertension (Dallas, Tex. 1979) Tex. 1979), 1999-10, Vol.34 (4, Part 1), p.580-585
• Main Authors: Straznicky, Nora E, O'Callaghan, Christopher J, Barrington, Vicki E, Louis, William J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Area Under Curve; Biological and medical sciences; Blood Glucose - drug effects; Blood Pressure - drug effects; Cholesterol - blood; Cross-Over Studies; Dietary Carbohydrates - administration & dosage; Dietary Carbohydrates - metabolism; Dietary Carbohydrates - pharmacology; Dietary Fats - administration & dosage; Dietary Fats - metabolism; Dietary Fats - pharmacology; Fasting - metabolism; Human physiology applied to population studies and life conditions. Human ecophysiology; Humans; Insulin - blood; Male; Medical sciences; Nutritional survey. Food supply and nutritional requirement
• ISSN: 0194-911X; 1524-4563
• DOI: 10.1161/01.HYP.34.4.580

To examine the relationship between diet, blood pressure, and plasma insulin concentrations, we studied 14 healthy males who were prescribed low-fat and high-fat diets. The low-fat diet contained 25% (of energy intake) fat and 54% carbohydrate; the high-fat diet was 45% fat (predominantly saturated fat) and 36% carbohydrate. The diets were consumed over consecutive 2-week periods in random sequence, separated by a 2-week washout period. Resting supine systolic and diastolic blood pressures decreased significantly by 7 and 3 mm Hg, respectively, and plasma total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol concentrations all fell (by 21.6%, 25.7%, and 18.0%, respectively; all P