Q. I heard that eating an Atkins diet could raise good HDL levels. Surely that is not true! Presumably all that saturated fat raises bad cholesterol even more.
A. In a recent study (New England Journal of Medicine, July 17, 2008), a low-carb Atkins-style diet resulted in higher good HDL cholesterol and lower triglycerides than a standard low-fat diet. Bad LDL cholesterol was not significantly different.
