by According to a study that examined skepticism about the nutritional quality of such diets, low-carb diets can meet and sometimes even exceed nutritional needs. Diets.
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-carbohydrate diets have been shown to provide health benefits, including weight loss, researchers say skepticism remains about the nutritional quality of low-carbohydrate diets.
Some argue that reducing carbohydrates leads to excessive intake of proteins or fat and a deficiency of important nutrients, said the team, which includes researchers from the University of Vermont (USA).
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 the 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 with higher iron needs or older people with higher calcium needs – the low-carbohydrate diets have slight deficiencies in some nutrients, the researchers said.
In addition, they found that two out of three diets in the study – those with 40 grams and 100 grams of net carbohydrates, respectively – also contained more than sufficient fiber for women aged 31–70 years.
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Although some low-carb diets are known to also be low in fiber, the researchers say the results do not support this theory.
“The assumption that a low-carbohydrate 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-carbohydrate 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 add fiber to the diet while maintaining overall value. Net carbohydrate intake under controlespecially with the more liberal low-carb approach,” said the co-author.
The researchers added that the low-carb diets provided more protein than needed to prevent deficiency, but without providing an excessive amount that could be dangerous.
