Low-Carb Diet = Higher Rate of Mortality

AnimalEverywhere we look, we are confronted with the outcomes of recent studies which tout the benefits of low-carb high-protein diets, saturated animal fats, coconut oil...and the list goes on. Because of this, we thought it would be helpful to start circulating the results of scientific studies which reveal the opposite to be true.

Show me the Science!

The Objective: The study below was conducted on 168 women and 548 men to "examine the association of low-carbohydrate diets with mortality during 26 years of follow-up in women and 20 years in men."(These participants did not have heart disease, cancer, or diabetes.)

The Design: "Low-carbohydrate diets, either animal-based (emphasizing animal sources of fat and protein) or vegetable-based (emphasizing vegetable sources of fat and protein), were computed from several validated food-frequency questionnaires assessed during follow-up."

The Setting: "Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals' Follow-up Study"

The study concluded: "A low-carbohydrate diet based on animal sources was associated with higher all-cause mortality in both men and women, whereas a vegetable-based low-carbohydrate diet was associated with lower all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality rates. In contrast, a higher vegetable low-carbohydrate score was associated with lower all-cause mortality."

See the study here.

In order to fairly examine the mortality rates associated with a low-carb diet, the study compared low-carb diets using animal sources of fat/protein to low-carb diets using vegetable-based fat/protein. However, a whole-food, nutrient-rich, plant-based diet that our nutritional experts recommend is not low-carb. We encourage eating carbohydrates in the form of whole plant foods, not refined carbohydrates such as processed grains, etc. Read our blog Are all Carbs Bad? for more details.

For more information, click on the following links:

(1) Linda Carney MD "Show me the Science" Pinterest Board

(2) Linda Carney MD "Animal-Based Diets Promote Disease"

(3) Linda Carney MD "Low-Carb Diets Promote Disease"

(4) Linda Carney MD "Prevent and Reverse Disease" Pinterest Board

(5) The Starch Solution - by John McDougall MD

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