Many versions of low-carbohydrate diets exist, all cutting carbs to different degrees. The general consensus among the medical community is that these diets can pose numerous health risks when followed long-term, and they do not promote long-term weight loss.
Health Benefits
Diets that call for a reduction in sugar and carbohydrates can encourage some healthy dietary choices. Exercise physiologist Greg Landry, writing for Sideroad.com, explains that low-carb diets discourage consuming sugar-laden foods and beverages as well as refined, white flour carbohydrates. These foods can lead to weight gain and high blood sugar; regardless of the type of diet you follow, you would benefit from restricting intake of these foods.
As for restricting sugar intake, you should familiarize yourself with the many names sugar goes by on food labels. Ingredients that indicate sugar include maltose, dextrose, maltodextrin, cane sugar, cane juice, brown rice syrup and corn syrup to name a few. The Mayo Clinic explains that these diets often rely on the glycemic index, a ranking of foods based on how quickly they raise blood sugar. Many healthy foods rank low such as apples, lentils, carrots and kidney beans. The problem with these diets lies in the reliance on fatty proteins and the restriction of certain healthy carbohydrates.
Idea Behind Carbohydrate-Restricted Diet
Eating too many carbohydrates, particularly sugary foods and refined white-flour foods, can lead to the production of large amounts of glucose and insulin. Excess levels of both can lead your body to store glucose as fat. The Mayo Clinic explains that these diets can accomplish two things: reduce glucose production and encourage your body to use fat for energy, resulting in weight loss. The clinic explains, however, that while research on these diets has shown they promote weight loss, whether or not it results from blood sugar control has not been made clear.
Muscle and Water Loss
Exercise physiologist Greg Landry, writing for Sideroad.com, explains that the dramatic weight loss that usually occurs in the early stages of these diets primarily stems from loss of muscle and water. When you consume protein, the breakdown of this nutrient produces waste products; your body uses water to help the kidneys flush them out of your system. The more protein you eat, the more water your body will use for this purpose. As for the muscles, they use glucose as a form of energy and when deprived of it, will begin to break down.
Calorie Restriction
Sports nutritionist Glen Danbury, writing for Bodybuilding.com, explains that the weight loss on these diets most likely stems from reduced calorie intake. When you eliminate a large variety of foods from a diet, you tend to eat fewer calories. Even if a low-carb diet tends toward fatty proteins like meat and full-fat dairy, reduced caloric intake will typically result in weight loss, regardless of what you do consume. Danbury also notes that when you eat the same types of foods repeatedly, your body registers a feeling of fullness much more quickly, leading you to eat less.
Nutritional Deficiency
Diets that call for long-term restriction of carbohydrates can lead to nutritional deficiencies. Starchy carbohydrates like brown rice, whole wheat pasta, potatoes, sweet potatoes and corn --- usually restricted on these diets --- provide important vitamins and minerals as well as fiber. Because of this potential complication, you should not follow these diets long-term. Registered dietitian Katherine Zeratsky of the Mayo Clinic advises against following these diets for longer than three to four months.
Health Risks
The Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine, a group of physicians who advocate preventive medicine and provide information to the public, warns of the dangers of low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets. Eating excess amounts of animal foods rich in saturated fat and cholesterol can increase the risk for heart disease. The PCRM notes studies that have shown about 30 percent of people following low-carbohydrate diets increased cholesterol levels even if they lost weight. Following a low-carbohydrate diet where you eat a lot of red meat could raise your risk for colon cancer, though the PCRM notes that no studies exist exploring the link between these types of diets and colon cancer risk specifically.
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