When dieting to lose weight-as 1 in 3 Americans is trying to do-youre not just cutting out calories; youre also omitting vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that tag along with those calories. To test these nutritional effects of popular weight-loss plans, Stanford University scientists randomly assigned 300 overweight or obese women to one of four diets: Atkins, Zone, LEARN and Ornish. By repeatedly quizzing the women on what theyd actually eaten, researchers were able to calculate their vitamin and nutrient intake from food. While cutting an average of 500 daily calories, overall the women also reduced their intake of many of the nutrients that were measured. The reduction in dietary vitamin E was most pronounced, with more than 65% of the dieters not getting the Estimated Average Requirement.One surprise: Women on the Zone diet actually boosted their intake of vitamins A, E, C and K, while seeing no dip in other nutrients. Researchers said that finding demonstrated the benefits of a regimen, like the Zone plan, that encourages moderate but not extreme carbohydrate reductions-cutting back on added sugars and refined grains while keeping beans, greens and other veggies.TO LEARN MORE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, online before print, www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/ abstract/ajcn.2010.29468v1
