Low Carb Diet Health Warning
WLR dietitian Juliette Kellow reports on the latest research
published which shows there are no real benefits to following a
low-carb diet and it may even be damaging to health.
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Low Carb Diets Should Carry a Health Warning
By WLR Dietitian
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Low carb diets like the Atkins plan might claim to promote
greater weight loss than more conventional diets that
recommend a low-fat and high-carb intake.
But a new study confirms this isn’t the case – and in fact,
suggests that extremely low carb diets may actually be harmful
to health.
In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition, 20 obese adults followed either a very low-carb
diet where just 5 percent of calories came form carbs, or a
moderately-restricted carb diet where 40 percent of calories
came from carbs.
After six weeks, the researchers discovered the two groups
had lost roughly the same amount of body fat and weight, but
the very low-carb diet was linked with several adverse
metabolic changes. As a result, the researchers recommend
avoiding very low-carb diets.
WLR says:
As more research has been carried out, it’s become
increasingly clear that there are no real benefits to
following a low-carb diet – and there are very real health
risks of low carb diets.
Even though this is a small study, it proves it really is
calories that count when it comes to losing weight. Providing
your calorie intake is lower than the amount of calories you
use up every day, you’ll lose weight. Low carb diets can offer
more risks than benefits.
Our advice: stick to the calorie intake recommended by WLR
and make sure you get those calories by eating a sensible,
healthy diet that includes plenty of fruit, veg and fibre-rich
carbs like wholegrain bread, wholewheat pasta and brown rice. |
