There are many advocates current and historic that see the ‘low carbohydrate’ diet as a compelling approach to managing a variety of health disorders, including obesity and many of its associated co-morbidities.
In this article published by the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, the authors seek to identify if there any risks associated with this style of nutrition.[1] In this review, they analyse LCDs, which are inherently higher in cholesterol, saturated fats, and animal products, to assess their effects on weight loss, glucose metabolism, blood pressure, and lipid levels.
In summary – in case reading the paper is not on your immediate to do list (albeit, its quite short and an easy read!) the authors conclude, low-carbohydrate diets seem to have short-term efficacy in weight loss without negatively affecting blood pressure, glucose, and cholesterol compared with other diets. Conclusions about long-term efficacy and safety cannot be made, however.
Reference
[1] Fields H, Ruddy B, Wallace MR, Shah A, Millstine D. Are Low-Carbohydrate Diets Safe and Effective? J Am Osteopath Assoc. 2016 Dec 1;116(12):788-793. View Full Paper
