New studies evaluating the effects of high-carbohydrate and high- monounsaturated fat diets indicate that patients with type 2 diabetes suffered modestly raised blood pressure after being exposed to 14 weeks of a high-carbohydrate diet compared to a diet high in monounsaturated fat.

One diet consisted in a high-carbohydrate diet consisting of 55% of calories as carbohydrate, 30 percent as fat, and 10 percent as monounsaturated fat. The other diet consisted in a high-monounsaturated fat diet deriving 40 percent of calories from carbohydrate, 45 percent from fat, and 25 percent from monounsaturated fat.

The research compared the effect of two same-calorie diets among 42 patients with type 2 diabetes, who consumed each diet for 6 weeks, with about 1 week between the two periods. These patients were invited to continue the second diet for 8 weeks more. Eightof them continued on the high-monounsaturated fat diet and 13 continued on the high-carbohydrate diet.

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

After the 8 week-extension, 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 lowering of heart rate compared with the end of the initial 6-week periods during the 8-week extension of the high-monounsaturated fat diet. There was almost no statistical significance between Systolic and diastolic blood pressure that were 3 to 4 points lower after 14 weeks on the high-monounsaturated fat diet.