Results from a health trial show that when trying to decrease your risk of deadly conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, there are always ways to get it better. In people already having a healthy weight, or with a few additional pounds, lowering the calories intake per day by about 300, it greatly improves already good levels of cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, and other states.
The discoveries of the randomized and controlled test of 218 adult participants under the age of 50 are published in the journal The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.
The trial was part of an ongoing project at theNational Institutes of Health called CALERIE (Comprehensive Assessment of Long-term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy). It continues to add on the scientists’ theories that it is not just weight loss that conducts to this betterment, but some more intricate metabolic changes generated by consuming fewer calories than what is given.
Participants consumed three meals per day, for the first month, that would eliminate one-fourth of their daily calories to help them adjust to a new diet. They could choose from six different meal plans that matched their cultural preferences or other needs. Participants also took part in group and individual counseling sessions for the first six months of the test. This happened while the members of the controlled group kept consuming their usual diet and met with scientists every six months.
People participating in the trial were asked to keep the 25 percent calorie reduction for two years. They were able to achieve a 10 percent drop in their weight, 71 percent of which was fat, the results of the research showed. There were also several improvements in levels that measure the risk of metabolic disease. After two years, participants also have a decrease in a biomarker that shows chronic inflammation, which also has correlations to heart disease, cancer, and cognitive decline.
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