According to new research by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, limiting carbs to dinnertime can help those who are suffering from severe or morbid obesity, reducing the risk for diabetes and cardiovascular risk.
By opting for this diet, a secretion pattern of hormones that are responsible for both satiety and hunger and hormones that are associated with metabolic syndrome are influenced. It can help to prevent diabetes and cardiovascular disease from ever occurring.
A research student name Sigal Sofer who was under the auspices of Professor Zecharia Madar at the Institute of Biochemistry, Food Science and Nutrition at the Hebrew University’s Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment carried out the research of this diet.
Sofer used 78 police officers in the study to either an experiment diet that contained limiting carbs to dinner or a control weight loss diet that contained carbs throughout the entire day.
Researchers experimented the secretion of three different hormones through the study to test the theory of limiting carbs.
- Leptin- the satiety hormone
- Ghrelin- the hunger hormone
- Adiponectin- the link between obesity, insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome
Professor Madar said, “The idea came about from studies on Muslims during Ramadan, when they fast during the day and eat high-carbohydrate meals in the evening, which showed the secretion curve of leptin was changed.”
Through the study, researchers found that in limiting carbs, improvements began to happen in which led to changes in daylight hormonal profiles in favor of the dieters. The leptin’s secretion curve turned in during the daylight hours and was at the lowest point during the late day. The hormone gherlin’s secretion curve dipped and increased only in the evening hours. In the adiponectin hormone, it was elevated.
Also noticed was a change in hunger count, along with better anthropometric, biochemical and inflammatory results in the body.
“The findings lay the basis for a more appropriate dietary alternative for those people who have difficulty persisting in diets over time. The next step is to understand the mechanisms that led to the results obtained.” Professor Madar said.
