A small, short term study involving 140 overweight people that were either on a low fat, low carbohydrate or Mediterranean diet for two years reduced the thickness of their carotid artery wall by 5%. The carotid artery is the large artery found in the neck takes blood from the heart to the brain.

The buildup of fatty deposits in the arteries is called atherosclerosis. This thickens the arterial walls, making the arteries narrow. It becomes difficult for blood to travel through them to drop off oxygen and nutrients to tissues, and can ultimately lead to heart attacks and strokes.

The purpose of this study was to determine if atherosclerosis can be reversed by diet. Although there was a change in the volume of the wall that could be measured by comparing images of the carotid artery at the beginning and 2 years later, it was very small. But it does demonstrate that a condition once thought irreversible can in fact be reversed, not only with drugs, but also with diet.

The individuals who took part in the study were not followed up to determine if they had heart attacks or strokes.

But this study does demonstrate that modifying your diet does in fact have an impact on your health. [BBC]

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arteries, artherosclerosis, low carbohydrate, low fat, mediterranean diet