by New Delhi: According to a study that examined skepticism about the nutritional quality of such diets, low-carb diets can meet and sometimes even exceed one’s nutritional needs.
A low-carbohydrate diet is often recommended for people with diabetes to control their blood sugar levels. It involves limiting the intake of foods high in carbohydrates or added sugars, including sweets, starches and refined grains.
Although low-carb diets have been shown to provide health benefits, including weight loss, researchers say there remains skepticism about the nutritional quality of low-carb diets. Some argue that reducing carbohydrate intake leads to excessive intake of protein or fat and a deficiency in essential nutrients, said the team, which includes researchers from the University of Vermont (US).
For the study, published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition, they examined the nutritional adequacy of three different seven-day low-carb meal plans. Two of them were ketogenic diets—one contained an average of about 20 grams of net carbs per day, while the other contained an average of about 40 grams of net carbs per day. The third was a more generous meal plan that contained an average of about 100 grams of net carbs per day.
“All three low-carbohydrate diets exceeded the (US) recommendations for vitamins A, C, D, E, K, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, B6, folate, and B12 in men and women aged 31 to 70 years and exceeded calcium recommendations for adults aged 31 to 50 years,” the authors wrote.
“Our findings suggest that, in addition to their widely recognized ability to support weight control, low-carbohydrate dietary patterns may actually help improve diet quality and fill critical nutrient gaps,” said co-author Beth Bradley of the University of Vermont.
For certain subgroups of the population — such as younger women who need more iron or older people who need more calcium — the low-carb diets fall a little short on some nutrients, the researchers said. In addition, they found that two of three diets in the study — those with 40 grams and 100 grams of net carbs, respectively — also contained more than enough fiber for women ages 31 to 70.
Although some low-carb diets are known to be low in fiber, the researchers say the results do not support this assumption. “The assumption that a low-carb diet must also be low in fiber is simply not supported by the data. High-fiber foods are actually an important part of a low-carb lifestyle, in part because high-fiber foods can help lower net carbohydrate intake,” Bradley explained.
“Non-starchy vegetables, nuts and seeds, and in moderation even higher-carb fruits, starchy vegetables and whole grains can contribute fiber to the diet while keeping overall net carbohydrate intake under control, especially on the more liberal low-carb diet,” the co-author said. The researchers added that the low-carb meal plans provided more protein than needed to prevent deficiency without providing an excessive amount that could be unsafe.
