Eating a low-carb, high-fat diet for years does not raise the risk of heart disease, a long-term study suggests, easing fears that the popular Atkins diet might set people up for eventual heart attacks.

The study of thousands of women over two decades found that those who got lots of their carbohydrates from refined sugars and highly processed foods nearly doubled their risk of heart disease. At the same time, **those who ate a low-carb diet but got more of their protein and fat from vegetables rather than animal sources cut their heart disease risk by 30% on average**, compared with those who ate more animal fats.

[Read](http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-11-08-low-carb-diet_x.htm?csp=34 “Read the Story”) (AP via USA Today)