Thinking about it…
DietDoctor has some ideas based on a recent scientific study:
A new exciting Swedish study provides us with strong clues on how a person with diabetes should eat (and how to eat to maximize fat burning). It’s the first study to examine in detail how various blood markers change throughout the day depending on what a diabetic person eats.
The study examined the effects of three different diets in 19 subjects with diabetes type 2. They consumed breakfast and lunch under supervision in a diabetes ward. The caloric intake in the three diets examined was the same, but the diets differed in the following manner:
- A conventional low-fat diet (45-56% carbs)
- A Mediterranean diet with coffee only for breakfast (= similar to 16:8 intermittent fasting) and a big lunch (32-35% carbs)
- A moderate low-carbohydrate diet (16-24% carbs)
All participants tested all three diets, one diet each day in randomized order.
Click through for results. Hint: Carbohydrate restriction works.
Steve Parker, M.D.
Paleo Diabetic 
From the study – ” However, the low-carbohydrate diet showed a trend towards higher levels of triglycerides, which was expected physiologically.”
Thoughts on this
Charles, that sentence doesn’t make sense to me. Given the time, I bet I could find five studies linking carbohydrate reduction with lowered serum TGs. Must be a red herring. When they use “trend,” that usually means not statistically significant.
-STeve
Since it was postprandial after a single meal, this is not surprising at all.
Oh, I see now, Evelyn. The key is “post-prandial,” not the fasting (8-12 hrs) triglycerides used in clinical settings. Post-prandial levels may only be important in those prone to pancreatitis when TGs are up around 1000 mg/dl. All the epidemiological studies looking at triglycerides and cardiovascular disease risk used fasting levels of TG. Same for hypertriglyceridemia treatment guidelines.
My comment to Charles was regarding fasting TG levels on low-carb diets. I remember my med school professors years ago telling us there’s no need to check TG levels after eating a steak. You can bet they’ll be high.
-Steve
This is the problem with this entire study. They are looking at postprandial responses on a single occasion. As you say, most diagnostics are fasted state. Though lipid clearance does seem to be a metabolic function that goes awry first and scientists working in the field lament that there’s not much focus on that.
ONE DAY eating breakfast or coffee only and lunch. Responses at lunch. How can you even consider drawing any sort of conclusion from this? SMH