Low fat/high carbohydrate diets are associated with higher heart disease risk

This post includes a synopsis of a study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation 1999 Oct;104(8):1087-96

Study title and authors:
Effects of a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet on VLDL-triglyceride assembly, production, and clearance.
Parks EJ, Krauss RM, Christiansen MP, Neese RA, Hellerstein MK.
Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA.

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10525047

Parks notes that low-fat, high-carbohydrate (LF/HC) diets commonly elevate (bad) triglyceride concentrations.

The study investigated the effects of a LF/HC diet and a control diet (higher in fat and lower in carbohydrate).

The study found that:
(a) The LF/HC diet resulted in a 60% elevation in (bad) triglyceride concentrations.
(b) The LF/HC diet resulted in a 37% reduction in very low density lipoprotein-triglyceride (VLDL-TG clearance) - which means higher levels of the (bad) VLDL-TG.
(c) The LF/HC diet resulted in a 18% reduction in whole-body fat oxidation - which means the body burns fat more slowly and makes you fatter.
(d) The LF/HC diet resulted in significant elevations in fasting apo B-48 concentrations. Apo B-48 concentrations are a marker for chylomicron remnants which are associated with heart disease.