A low carb diet may not be the best from the viewpoint of nutrition, although it DOES help patients with diabetes or heart disease lower their blood pressure, according to a new study published Jan 25 in Archives of Internal Medicine.

The study showed two groups of patients, one given a low carb diet and another given weight loss aid orlistat, sold as Xenical or Alli for a period of 48 weeks; the participants from both groups lost similar amounts of body weight.

William S. Yancy Jr. of the VA Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina gave 146 patients with heart disease or diabetes either a low carb diet with less than 20 grams of carbohydrate daily, or 120 mg of orlistat three itmes each day and instruction on eating low calorie and lower fat diet.

At the end of the study, the low carb group lost about 9.5 percent of their body weight while the orlistat group lost about 8.5 percent.

However, the low carb group experienced a 6 percent drop in their systolic blood pressure and a 4.5 point drop in their diastolic pressure. In comparison, the weight loss pill did not lower blood pressure.

Those who adhered to the low carb diet the most strictlyt lost about 14 to 15 percent of their body weight.

Previous studies have shown that low carb diets, such as the one advocated by Dr. Robert Atkins, is effective in short term weight loss; yet, those same studies have shown that it is difficult to maintain the weight loss.