Is a Low-Carb Diet So Much Better For Weight Loss? A New Review Brings The Evidence

The low-carb diet was all the rage in the 70s. The Dr Atkin claimed in his book that he could stay thin forever by limiting calories.

Carbohydrates can be found in breads, cereals, fruit, vegetables, and milk. Ultra-processed fast foods, cakes, chips and soft drinks are also included.

To beat heart disease and to be better for diabetes, low-carb diet are promoted as a weight-loss solution. How do these claims match up with the latest research?

A new review of the evidence found that long-term low-carb dieters lost just under a kilo more weight than other dieters. There was no evidence that a low-carb diet has any health benefits.

If you are on a low-carb diet, you will need to pay more attention to what you eat to make sure you get the vitamins and minerals you need.

What did the reviewers investigate?

More than 7,000 adults with excess body weight were included in the 61 randomized controlled trials. There are about 1,800 people with type 2 diabetes. The healthy weight range was not included.

The reviewers compared the different types of diet.

1. The lower the amount of calories, the lower the diet. This included a very low-carb or ketogenic diet with less than 50g of carbs a day or less than 10 percent of your total energy from carbs, and a low-carb diet with less than 50g of carbs a day or less than 45 percent of total energy from carbs.

2. A balanced diet with at least 150 grams of carbs a day, or 45 to 65 percent of your total energy from carbs.

An example of how a very low-carb, low-carb and balanced carb one-day meal plan might look. The portion sizes are different to keep the total kilojoules the same. The reviewers grouped the first two categories together.

What did they find?

The reviewers found that people with excess body weight lost more weight on a lower-carb diet than on a balanced diet.

The difference was half a kilogram when they provided the food or meal plans.

The average difference in weight-loss between those on a low-carb diet and those on a balanced diet was less than one kilogram.

The average weight lost by groups on any weight-reducing diet ranged from less than one kilogram in some trials to more than 28 lbs in others.

The studies found that adults with type 2 diabetes lost more weight on a low-carb diet than on a balanced diet. There was no difference in interventions that lasted between one and two years.

There were no differences in weight-loss between people with and without type 2 diabetes in a small group of studies.

Blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar control and risk of constipation were all the same. There were no differences in the results when it came to the extent of participants restriction.

The review shows that if you prefer a balanced eating pattern, it can work for weight loss.

Carbohydrate is a food. Your body uses it to produce energy to support itself.

Fruits, vegetables, and milk are good for you because they are packed with important vitamins and minerals.

A low-carb diet could be lower in these vitamins. How can you make sure you are consuming enough? There are some lower and higher-carb options to look out for.

It is important that you have fiber in your diet to keep your colon healthy.

Fresh and frozen mixed berries, almonds, cauliflower are lower in calories.

Grainy bread, apples, chickpeas, and sweet potato are higher in calories.

Thiamin is needed to supply energy to your body and it is also used to metabolize carbohydrates.

trout, tuna, sunflower seeds, beef, yeast extracts are lower in calories.

Brown rice, black beans, wholemeal bread, and yogurt are higher in calories.

Strong bones need calcium.

Hard cheese, canned salmon with small bones, almonds, and firm tofu are lower cab sources.

Milk, soft cheese, and yogurt are higher in calories.

Folate is used to make your genetic code. Folate is needed to prevent neural tube defects in infants during pregnancy, and adequate intakes are important for women.

Green leafy vegetables, avowal, broccoli, peanuts are lower in calories.

Wholemeal bread is fortified with folic acid, brown rice, and oranges are higher sources of higher-carb sources.

If you want to lose weight, you can. If you want to lower your kilojoule and carb intake, you should eat healthy foods and not eat junk foods.

The Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics is Clare Collins.

This article is free to use under a Creative Commons license. You can read the original article.