Too little fat? For people with the cluster of problems known as metabolic syndrome, moderate- beats low-fat diet.

A moderate-fat diet (40% fat/45% carbohydrates/15% protein) more effectively reduces cardiovascular risk than a low-fat diet of (20% fat/65% carbs/15% protein) in patients with the cluster of problems known as metabolic syndrome (or MetS). Think of MetS as an unwelcome group of dangerous house guests: obesity, high triglycerides, low levels of good cholesterol (called high density lipoprotein or HDL), elevated fasting glucose, and high blood pressure. None of these do you (and your heart) any favors, but when they gang up on you in your body, the outcome is not pretty (heart attack, premature death, maybe stroke).

In this small study of 64 men and women, participants underwent different diets for 4 weeks. In this first comparison of low-fat vs. moderate-fat diets in people with MetS, moderate-fat compared to low-fat diet did a better job of reducing cardiovascular disease risk. Why? The low-fat diet had more carbs, which could have been deleterious depending on the types of carbohydrates eaten.

Comment: For most Americans, a low-fat diet is very hard to maintain. For the huge number of Americans with the galaxy of problems known as metabolic syndrome, the good news from this study is you don’t have to eat a diet that makes you think your taste buds have died. Moderation in everything and, at least in these particularly high-risk people, that means a diet you can live with.