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Low-carb diets have been popular ever since the 1970s with the Atkins diet. The low-carb diet has gained significant popularity in the past decade. However, a new scientific study finds that this diet may not have the weight-loss results that it has promised compared to a balanced diet.
Many health experts advise steering clear of carbohydrates such as bread, cereals, and other grains in an effort to skip foods that could break down into glucose. However, a new study finds that carbohydrates may not be as detrimental as previously reported.
“In fact, if you’re on a low-carb diet, you’ll need to pay closer attention to what you eat to make sure you get enough essential vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and other phytonutrients,” Science Alert reported this week.
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The report cites research from the Cochrane Database of Systematic Review titled “Low-carbohydrate versus balanced-carbohydrate diets for reducing weight and cardiovascular risk.”
The study set out to “compare the effects of low-carbohydrate weight-reducing diets to weight-reducing diets with balanced ranges of carbohydrates, in relation to changes in weight and cardiovascular risk, in overweight and obese adults without and with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).”
The analysis involved 6,925 participants in 61 randomized controlled trials who had either “low-carbohydrate or balanced-carbohydrate weight-reducing diets.”
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The authors of the study concluded: “There is probably little to no difference in weight reduction and changes in cardiovascular risk factors up to two years’ follow-up, when overweight and obese participants without and with T2DM are randomised to either low-carbohydrate or balanced-carbohydrate weight-reducing diets.”
“The reviewers found that among adults with excess body weight (but who didn’t have type 2 diabetes), those following lower-carb diets for 3 to 8.5 months lost, on average, one kilogram more weight than those on balanced carb diets,” Science Alert notes.
One kilogram is roughly 2 pounds.
The outlet added, “In longer-term weight-loss interventions lasting one to two years, the average difference in weight-loss between those on low-carb versus balanced carb diets was just under one kilogram.”
“There were no significant differences in other health measures, including blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar control or risk of constipation,” the publication stated. “And they found no important clinical differences in results based on the extent of participants’ carb restriction.”
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