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Bielohuby, M.* ; Sisley, S.* ; Sandoval, D.A.* ; Herbach, N.* ; Zengin, A.* ; Fischereder, M.* ; Menhofer, D.* ; Stoehr, B.J.* ; Stemmer, K. ; Wanke, R.* ; Tschöp, M.H. ; Seeley, R.J.* ; Bidlingmaier, M.*

Impaired glucose tolerance in rats fed low-carbohydrate, high-fat diets.

Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab. 305, E1059-E1070 (2013)
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Moderate low-carbohydrate/high-fat (LC-HF) diets are widely used to induce weight loss in overweight subjects, whereas extreme ketogenic LC-HF diets are used to treat neurological disorders like pediatric epilepsy. Usage of LC-HF diets for improvement of glucose metabolism is highly controversial; some studies suggest that LC-HF diets ameliorate glucose tolerance, whereas other investigations could not identify positive effects of these diets or reported impaired insulin sensitivity. Here, we investigate the effects of LC-HF diets on glucose and insulin metabolism in a well-characterized animal model. Male rats were fed isoenergetic or hypocaloric amounts of standard control diet, a high-protein "Atkins-style" LC-HF diet, or a low-protein, ketogenic, LC-HF diet. Both LC-HF diets induced lower fasting glucose and insulin levels associated with lower pancreatic β-cell volumes. However, dynamic challenge tests (oral and intraperitoneal glucose tolerance tests, insulin-tolerance tests, and hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamps) revealed that LC-HF pair-fed rats exhibited impaired glucose tolerance and impaired hepatic and peripheral tissue insulin sensitivity, the latter potentially being mediated by elevated intramyocellular lipids. Adjusting visceral fat mass in LC-HF groups to that of controls by reducing the intake of LC-HF diets to 80% of the pair-fed groups did not prevent glucose intolerance. Taken together, these data show that lack of dietary carbohydrates leads to glucose intolerance and insulin resistance in rats despite causing a reduction in fasting glucose and insulin concentrations. Our results argue against a beneficial effect of LC-HF diets on glucose and insulin metabolism, at least under physiological conditions. Therefore, use of LC-HF diets for weight loss or other therapeutic purposes should be balanced against potentially harmful metabolic side effects.
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Publication type Article: Journal article
Document type Scientific Article
Corresponding Author
Keywords Dietary Intervention ; Macronutrients ; Atkins-style And Ketogenic Diet ; Hyperinsulinemic Euglycemic Clamps ; Insulin Resistance; Ketogenic Diet ; Weight-loss ; Insulin-resistance ; Skeletal-muscle ; Body-weight ; Diabetes-mellitus ; Hepatic Steatosis ; Randomized-trial ; Healthy-men ; Protein
ISSN (print) / ISBN 0193-1849
e-ISSN 1522-1555
Journal American Journal of Physiology - Endocrinology and Metabolism
Quellenangaben Volume: 305, Issue: 9, Pages: E1059-E1070 Article Number: , Supplement: ,
Publisher American Physiological Society
Non-patent literature Publications
Reviewing status Peer reviewed
Institute(s) Institute of Diabetes and Obesity (IDO)