Berlin.
Those who eat fewer carbohydrates lose weight, according to the promise of the low-carb diet. But this diet can be unhealthy.
A low-carbohydrate diet has experienced a boom in recent years. The keyword for this is Low Carb and is associated with the hope of reducing weight. A new US study published in Journal of Internal Medicinenow comes to the conclusion: This way of eating can shorten life if misaligned.
On a low-carb diet, people largely do without carbohydrates. These are contained in pasta, rice, potatoes, bread or sweets. Even some fruit and vegetables have a high proportion of it: corn, peas, lentils, bananas or grapes.
Instead of carbohydrates, proteins and high-fat foods are on the menu. Proteins and fat can come from animal and plant products: meat, cheese, quark and eggs, for example, or nuts and fish. A low-carb diet includes, according to the Health insurance AOK such as the Atkins and Keto diets or the Logi method.
Low Carb: Long-term study covers a period of 23.5 years
With the beginning of long-term study in the USA in 1995, the approximately 371,000 participants were said to be between 50 and 71 years old. Scientists at Harvard University in Cambridge (USA) divided them into different groups. Here the men and women who ate little carbohydrates, there those who ate high carbohydrates.
In addition, they distinguished two types of high-fat diets. Lots of saturated fats from red meat, sausage, or butter versus lots of unsaturated fats from fish, nuts, or oils. The researchers then looked for connections between diet and Life expectancy.
According to the evaluation, around 165,700 participants died within the 23.5 years of the study. People on a low-carb, high-fat diet died earlier than people on a low-fat diet. Her risk of death was 38 percent higher, according to the study. A “healthy” low-carb diet with primarily unsaturated fatty acids and vegetable proteins, on the other hand, had a rather positive effect on life expectancy.
Low saturated fats: This diet prolongs life
A low-fat diet is definitely the best compared to a low-carbohydrate diet healthier option, conclude the scientists. “A healthy, low-fat diet that is low in saturated fat reduces the risk of early death for people aged 50 and over. Our study again supports this assumption,” the study authors write. Also one Study of the Women’s Hospital in Boston (USA) from 2018, published in the journal “Lancet Public Health”, had come to this conclusion.
For the researchers at Harvard University, a lot of fresh fruit and Vegetables, lean meat, fish, whole grains, legumes and olive oil to a life-prolonging diet. However, fats and trans fats, such as those found in meat, sausage, butter, cheese, whole milk, and highly processed and fried products, have a life-shortening effect. (kai)
More articles from this category can be found here: Life
