Table 1. Studies evaluating the impact of low carbohydrate interventions and low glycemic index interventions on markers of endothelial function.
| Study | Design | Participants | Duration | Intervention* | Effect on endothelial function |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low Carbohydrate Interventions | |||||
| Keogh JB, 2007 [29] | Parallel | 13 overweight/obese | 1 year | LC (33) or HC (60) | LC ↔ FMD vs. BL; ↔ vs. HC |
| Keogh JB, 2008 [26] | Parallel | 66 overweight/obese | 8 wks | LC (4) or HC (46) | LC ↔ FMD vs. BL; ↔ vs. HC |
| Phillips SA, 2008 [57] | Parallel | 20 obese | 6 wks | LC (4) or HC (57) | LC ↓ FMD vs. BL; ↓ vs. HC |
| Buscemi S, 2009 [58] | Parallel | 20 overweight/obese | 2 mo | LC (20) or HC (55) | LC ↓ FMD vs. BL; ↓ vs. HC at 1 wk |
| LC ↔ FMD vs. BL; ↔ vs. HC at 2 mo | |||||
| Wycherley TP, 2010 [31] | Parallel | 49 overweight/obese | 1 year | LC (4) or HC (46) | LC ↓ FMD vs. HC |
| Varady KA, 2011 [30] | Parallel | 17 obese | 6 wks | LC (5) or HC (55) | LC ↓ FMD vs. BL; N/A vs. HC |
| Mohler ER, 2013 [59] | Parallel | 121 healthy | 2 years | LC (-10) or HC (55) | LC ↔ FMD vs. BL; ↔ vs. HC |
| Ruth MR, 2013 [60] | Parallel | 55 obese | 12 wks | LC (10) or HC (56) | LC ↔ FMD vs. HC |
| Low Glycemic Index Interventions | |||||
| Lavi T, 2009 [43] | Crossover | 56 overweight/obese | 4 visits (2h) |
LGI, HGI, glucose, water | LGI ↑ FMD vs. glucose |
| Buscemi S, 2013 [28] | Parallel | 40 obese | 3 mo | LGI or HGI | LGI ↑ FMD vs. BL and vs. HGI |
| Recio-Rodriguez JI, 2015 [40] | Cross-sectional | 1,553 free of CVD | N/A | LGI vs. HGI | HGI ↑ AI vs. LGI |
AI: augmentation index, CVD: cardiovascular disease, FMD: flow mediated dilation, LC: low carbohydrate, HC: high carbohydrate, HGI: high glycemic index, LGI: low glycemic index, BL: baseline, ↑: improved, ↓: impaired, ↔: unchanged.
*Carbohydrates are expressed as a percentage of daily energy intake as LC(%) or HC(%).