What Are The Dangers Of A 50-carb-per-day Diet?

Recommended daily consumption of carbohydrates is 45 to 65 percent of your calories, according to the McKinley Health Center. On a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet, that amounts to 225 to 325 g of carbohydrates. Most low-carb diets limit consumption to between 50 and 150 g per day. At 50 g, you're on the low end of the spectrum and could develop health problems.

Cholesterol Levels

When you eliminate significant carbohydrates from your diet, you must replace them with some other type of food. If you choose fatty meats, this can contribute to an increase in "bad," or LDL, cholesterol, which is a precursor to some forms of cancer, as well as heart disease. Fatty meats tend to have high levels of trans and saturated fats. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, these fats can raise your cholesterol level even more than consuming cholesterol directly.

Ketosis

Ketosis is one of the more well-known risks of very-low-carb diets; some diets even promote the state of ketosis as an indication that you're burning fat for energy rather than glucose, which is their purpose. Ketosis occurs because your body must break down fat for energy when you don't give it enough carbohydrates, which it can convert to glucose. However, it doesn't do this very efficiently, and particles of fat can escape to form ketones. High levels of ketones in your body can cause nausea, irritability and weakness. They can also prompt your body into more frequent urination, which can result in dehydration and a loss of water weight that might be mistaken for losing actual weight in the form of fat.

Digestive Problems

Limiting your carbohydrate intake to only 50 g a day necessarily limits fiber that your body needs for optimal digestion. Vegetables, whole-grain foods and fruits all contain fiber, and many of these foods also have too many carbohydrates to fit into a 50-g-a-day plan. Without sufficient fiber, you risk constipation, hemorrhoids and even colon cancer if you maintain such a diet for a long period of time.

Kidney Stones

"Fitness RX" magazine indicated in a 2010 article that Steve Blechman, its co-publisher and editor-in-chief, suffered severe kidney stones as a result of following a very-low-carb diet for a period of one year. Increased consumption of animal proteins is one cause of kidney stones, which a very-low-carb diet can involve if you eat more meat to take the place of the carbs you're no longer consuming.

Cognitive Problems

The McKinley Health Center indicates that every cell in your body uses glucose for energy, which your body converts from carbohydrates when you supply it with enough of them. Carbs are also essential to your brain and nervous system. Symptoms of irritability and some temporary cognitive impairment might result when you deprive your brain of sufficient carbs for optimal functioning.