Low Carbohydrate Diets: Have They Been Researched Adequately?

There have now been more than 70 clinical trials on nearly 7,000 people, including a wide variety of sick and well populations, mainly in the U.S. These studies are compiled in a public database

Did the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee review this literature?

In 2015, as documented in an article in BMJ, the low-carbohydrate literature was omitted from the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee report.

Excerpt: The omitted papers on low-carbohydrate diets include “nine pilot studies, 11 case studies, 19 observational studies, and at least 74 randomised controlled trials, 32 of which lasted six months or longer.” See Table C on BMJ.com for the complete list of studies. A more legible version of this table is available here (Appendix #5).

In 2020, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee formally reviewed the “low-carb” diet but said that it could only find a single study (authored by a member of the Committee).

At the time, there were more than 100 clinical trials on low-carbohydrate or ketogenic diets. The Nutrition Coalition objected to this omission of relevant science in its public comments to USDA.


A well-curated collection of studies on carbohydrate restriction has been done by the Society of Metabolic Health Practitioners.

Their categories include:

https://thesmhp.org/papers/

This group has also collected a variety of articles by experts in the science and practice of carbohydrate restriction here


Myths and Facts about a low-carbohydrate diet overseen by experts in the field can be found at the following site:

https://lowcarbaction.org/myths-facts/


T2 Diabetes and low-carbohydrate/ketogenic diets

The evidence base for low-carbohydrate/ketogenic diets is most advanced for the prevention and even reversal of diabetes. The American Diabetes Association recognized that a ketogenic diet is the best for controlling blood sugar, which is at the heart of combatting T2 diabetes. Official recognition of the ability of very low-carbohydrates to reverse a diagnosis of T2 diabetes are here:

American Diabetes Association Consensus Report:
Definition and Interpretation of Remission in Type 2 Diabetes

https://academic.oup.com/jcem/advance-article/doi/10.1210/clinem/dgab585/6358623

Diabetes UK Position Statement For Healthcare Professionals
Remission In Adults With Type 2 Diabetes

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/professionals/position-statements-reports/statement-remission-type2

Diabetes Australia Position Paper T2 Diabetes Remission

https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021_Diabetes-Australia-Position-Statement_Type-2-diabetes-remission_2.pdf


How a low-carbohydrate approach differs from previous theories on obesity

Carbohydrate restriction is based largely upon a new hypothesis about obesity and other metabolic diseases. This hypothesis rejects the idea that obesity can be explained by calories-in-calories-out (CICO) and instead deduces from the evidence that obesity is a hormonal disorder, principally involving the hormone insulin—which is considered the ‘king’ of all hormones for fat deposition.

The carbohydrate-insulin model: a physiological perspective on the obesity pandemic

https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ajcn/nqab270/6369073


Should a “low-carbohydrate” diet be one of the USDA-HHS “Dietary Patterns,” recommended to all Americans?

This major review on the low-carbohydrate diet lays out the evidence to argue that a low-carbohydrate diet should be one of the USDA-HHS Dietary Patterns. The authors on this paper are a high-level group, including the country’s senior-most experts and researchers on low-carb and ketogenic diets. This paper provides basic definitions and an up-to-date review of the evidence for low-carb/ketogenic diets for obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/10/3299


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