Definition: Low Carb Meals

Low-carbohydrate foods or low-carb diets are dietary programs that restrict carbohydrate consumption primarily for weight control. Foods high in digestible carbohydrates are limited or replaced with foods containing a higher percentage of proteins and fats.

Scientific research

Medical research related to low-carbohydrate diets

Because of the substantial controversy regarding low-carbohydrate diets and even disagreements in interpreting the results of specific studies it is difficult to objectively summarize the research in a way that reflects scientific consensus. Although there has been some research done throughout the twentieth century, most directly relevant scientific studies have occurred in the 1990s and early 2000s and, as such, are relatively new. Contrary to popular belief that low-carbohydrate diets damage the heart, one study found that women eating low-carbohydrate, high-fat/protein diets had the same or slightly less risk of coronary heart disease, compared to women eating high-carbohydrate, low-fat diets. Other studies have found possible benefits to individuals with diabetes, cancer and autism. The Johns Hopkins diet (see Ketogenic diet), with 90% of energy from fat and much of the remaining from protein, has also been used for more than 80 years to treat epilepsy, though today it has been largely superseded by medication (interestingly, there has very recently been renewed interest in use of the original diet).

A study conducted in 1965 at the Oakland (California) Naval Hospital used a diet of 1000 kilocalories per day, high in fat and limiting carbohydrates to 10 grams (40 kilocalories) daily. Over a ten-day period, subjects on this diet lost more body fat than did a group who fasted completely. (Benoit et. al. 1965). Some subsequent studies have shown similar results. Many advocates of low-carbohydrate diets have termed this the metabolic advantage of such diets although many experts dispute whether this is truly a general phenomenon.

The results of studies from Stanford University (2007) and Duke University (2005) favored low-carbohydrate diets for both weight loss and health indicators.

Water-related weight loss

In the first week or two of a low-carbohydrate diet a great deal of the weight loss comes from eliminating water retained in the body (many doctors say that the presence of high levels of insulin in the blood causes unnecessary water retention in the body[33]). However, this is a short-term effect and is entirely separate from the general weight loss that these diets can produce through eliminating excess body fat.

Exercise

Some critics argue that low-carbohydrate diets can inherently cause weakness or fatigue[34] giving rise to the occasional assumption that low-carbohydrate dieting cannot involve an exercise regimen. Advocates of low-carbohydrate diets generally dispute any suggestion that such diets cause weakness or exhaustion (except in the first several days as the body adjusts) and indeed most highly recommend exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle.[33]

Micronutrients and vitamins

The major low-carbohydrate diet guides generally recommend multi-vitamin and mineral supplements as part of the diet regimen which may lead some to believe that these diets are nutritionally deficient. The primary reason for this recommendation is that if the switch from a high-carbohydrate to a low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet is rapid, the body can temporarily go through a period of adjustment during which the body may require extra vitamins and minerals (the reasons have to do with the body's releasing excess fluids that were stored during high-carbohydrate eating). In other words, the body goes through a temporary "shock" if the diet is changed to low-carbohydrate dieting quickly just as it would changing to a high-carbohydrate diet quickly. This does not, in and of itself, indicate that either type of diet is nutritionally deficient.

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