Low-carb diet linked to elevated mortality risk: Study

The optimal balance of food groups for longevity remains hotly debated, but many studies have concluded that eating carbohydrates in moderation - 45 to 55 per cent calories - is best. PHOTO: ST FILE

PARIS (AFP) - Middle-aged people who get roughly half their daily calories from carbohydrates live several years longer on average than those with low-carb and high-carb diets, researchers reported.

Those with high-carb diets even managed to outlive those with low-carb diets by three years, while those with moderate carbohydrate consumption outlived those with low-carb by four years.

The findings, published in The Lancet medical journal on Thursday (Aug 16), challenge a trend in Europe and North America towards so-called Paleo diets that shun carbohydrates in favour of animal protein and fat. Proponents of these "Stone Age" diets argue that the rapid shift 10,000 years ago - with the advent of agriculture - to grains, dairy and legumes has not allowed the human body enough time to adapt to these high-carb foods.

For the study, under 40 per cent of energy intake from carbohydrates qualifies as a low-carb regimen, though many such diets reduce the share to 20 per cent or less. At the other extreme is a 70 per cent or higher share of carbohydrates such as pasta, rice, cakes and sugary drinks. Such a diet can also reduce longevity, but by far less, the scientists found.

"Low-carb diets that replace carbohydrates with protein or fat are gaining widespread popularity as a health and weight loss strategy," said lead author Sara Seidelmann, a researcher at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

"However, our data suggests that animal-based low carbohydrate diets might be associated with shorter overall lifespan and should be discouraged."

Replacing meat with plant-based fats (such as avocados and nuts) and proteins (such as soy products and lentils) reduces the risk of mortality, Dr Seidelmann and her team found.

The optimal balance of food groups for longevity remains hotly debated. Many studies have concluded that eating carbohydrates in moderation - 45 to 55 per cent calories - is best, but others report improved short-term, cardio-metabolic health with high-protein, high-fat diets.

Measures of metabolic health include blood pressure, good and bad cholesterol, and blood sugar levels.

Dr Seidelmann told British daily The Guardian that her team is trying to provide a clearer picture about nutrition: "Nutrition is high up on everybody's mind but there is such confusion about what we should eat. One day, a study is coming out telling us high carb is better, another day a study is telling us low carb is better."

While direct comparisons between a low-carb and high-carb diet to longevity is impossible to carry out, as it requires subjects to stick to the same diets over decades, which people find difficult to do, Dr Seidelmann and colleagues carried out observational research, reports The Guardian.

They pored over the medical histories of nearly 15,500 men and women who were aged 45-64 when they enrolled - between 1987 and 1989 - in a health survey spread across four locations in the United States.

Participants filled out detailed questionnaires about their dietary habits - what foods, how much, how often and so on. Over a 25-year follow-up period, more than 6,000 of the men and women died.

People who got 50 to 55 per cent of their calories from carbohydrates outlived those with very low-carb diets, on average, by four years, and those with high-carb diets by one year.

A review of medical records for an additional 432,000 people from earlier studies confirmed the results, which are also in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations.

"There is nothing to be gained from long-term adherence to low-carbohydrate diets rich in fats and proteins from animal origins," said Mr Ian Johnson, a nutrition researcher at Quadram Institute Bioscience in Norwich, England, commenting on the research, in which he did not take part.

But carb quality, not just quantity, is crucial he added.

"Most should come from plant foods rich in dietary fibre and intact grains, rather than from sugary beverages or manufactured foods high in added sugar."

Fibres also help maintain a healthy gut flora, now considered to be a major player in health and disease.

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