Many people cross bread, pasta and potatoes off their menus, hoping to drop pounds and improve their heart health. But there's a controversy behind this multibillion-dollar wellness phenomenon: Research is divided on carbohydrate-restricted diets.
While high-carb diets are known to increase the risk of clogged arteries, heart disease and stroke, the benefits of low-carb diets are not as clear-cut. Some studies have found that low-carb diets can improve these health markers, while others have found no such benefits or even that they increase heart disease risk.
Now, a study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition led by researchers with Texas A&M University School of Public Health at Texas A&M Health adds a piece to the puzzle of why a diet that works for one person's metabolism might send another person's cholesterol levels skyrocketing.
The team's analysis of studies involving nearly 11,500 adults in 27 countries found that moderate carb intake may offer the best long-term health outcomes.
"Cutting carbs can be a powerful tool for losing weight, lowering blood pressure and reducing triglycerides, but it requires monitoring lipid profiles," said doctoral student Shuo Feng, the study's first author. "Ketogenic and low-carb diets showed the biggest improvements in a few specific health markers, but moderate-carb diets improved a wider variety of health markers overall."
