Reduce consumption of carbohydrates will help you lose weight, but not be so advisable to lower cholesterol, says a new study.

People who followed a diet low in carbohydrates, but relatively high in fat, lost weight in six weeks as much as those who made a diet rich in carbohydrates.

But levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol or “bad” increased significantly in the group with a low-carbohydrate diet, whereas in the other group down.

High levels of LDL are a risk factor for heart disease because they are associated with clogged arteries.

Low-carbohydrate diets are increasingly popular and their advocates say they reduce cholesterol and the risk of developing diabetes, said in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition Team Dr. Teri L. Hernandez, of the University of Colorado at Denver, Aurora.

But little is known about what effects, unlike the high-carbohydrate diet.

The team told the obese adults randomly to 32 for six weeks to make a diet low in carbohydrates (20 grams or less per day) or with 55 percent of calories derived from this component.

Both groups lost weight about 6 kilos. But patients who followed a low-carbohydrate diet experienced an increase of about 12 milligrams per deciliter in LDL levels, from 109 milligrams per deciliter (less than 100 is optimal).

In the group treated with high-carbohydrate diet, LDL dropped 7 milligrams per deciliter, from 102 milligrams per deciliter.

In the participants who followed low-carbohydrate diet increased significantly more levels of free fatty acids, which are released into the blood when the body destroys the stored fat.

Having high levels of free fatty acids more difficult work of the liver to store glucose, which raises blood sugar levels. This increase defines diabetes.

“The data suggest that high-fat diet would have adverse metabolic effects during weight loss,” the team concluded.