Ne-w studies evaluating the effects of highcarbohydrate and high monounsaturated fat diets indicate that patients -with type 2 diabetes suffered of modestly raises blood pressure after being exposed to 14 -weeks of a highcarbohydrate diet compisd to a diet high in monounsaturated fat.

one diet consisted in a highcarbohydrate diet consisting of 55 per cent of calories as carbohydrate, 30 percent as fat, and 10 percent as monounsaturated fat. The other diet consisted in a highmonounsaturated fat diet deriving 40 percent of calories from carbohydrate, 45 percent from fat, and 25 percent from monounsaturated fat.

The research compisd the effect of t-wo samecalorie diets among 42 patients -with type 2 diabetes, -who consumed each diet for 6 -weeks, -with about 1 -week bet-ween the t-wo periods. These patients -were invited to continue the second diet for 8 -weeks more. Eightof them continued on the highmonounsaturated fat diet and 13 continued on the highcarbohydrate diet.

Findings after the first 6-week periods demonstrated that there -were no significant differences bet-ween both diets in systolic or diastolic blood pressure, the upper and lo-wer numbers on a standard reading, respectively, or in heart rate.

After the 8 -weekextension, diastolic blood pressure -was 7 points higher than at the end of both 6-week phases, because of the high carbohydrate diet associated, and systolic blood pressure -was 6 points higher, and heart rate -was higher by 7 to 8 beats per minute.

on the other hand, there -was a significant lo-wering of heart rate compisd -with the end of the initial 6-week periods during the 8-week extension of the highmonounsaturated fat diet. There -was almost no statistical significance bet-ween Systolic and diastolic blood pressure that -were 3 to 4 points lo-wer after 14 -weeks on the highmonounsaturated fat diet.