Low-Carbohydrate, High-Protein Diets Are Not Heavy on the Heart

Even if many medical experts have repeatedly warned in the past about side effects diets such as the Atkins diet may have on one's health, a recent study carried out by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health found that avoiding based-on-wheat foods, rice, pasta etc, and consuming meat, fats, vegetables does not cause arteries clogging and heart disorders. Therefore, if such a diet works on you and helps you shed weight until you reach a normal body weight and BMI, then it is suited for you and you are safe, as it does not bring about any risk of cardiovascular disease.

However, if the low-carb, high in protein diet is not harmful for one's health, it is not beneficial either. Harvard researchers involved in the current study highlighted the fact that this type of diet does not improve an individual's health, instead a moderate-carbohydrates and mainly vegetable sources of proteins would be the most recommended. Besides the fact that the latter diet will work by helping people lose weight, it also preserves one's health and wards off risks of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD.)
"Our findings suggest that diets lower in carbohydrates and higher in protein and fat are not associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease in women. This study suggests that neither a low-fat dietary pattern nor a typical low-carbohydrate dietary pattern is ideal with regards to risk of CHD; both have similar risks. However, if a diet moderately lower in carbohydrates is followed, with a focus on vegetable sources of fat and protein, there may be a benefit for heart disease," said lead author of the research Thomas Halton, of the Harvard School of Public Health.

Findings of the study also showed that, when individuals take up diets low in carbohydrates and high in fats and proteins, but from vegetable sources primarily, their risk of coronary heart disease lowers by about 30%. Also, there was no significant difference noted between a low-carb, high animal fat diet and a high-carb, low animal fat diet - both diets did not increase risk for coronary heart disease, but did not lower it either.

The team of researchers said: "When vegetable sources of fat and protein were chosen, the low-carbohydrate-diet score was associated with a moderately lower risk of coronary heat disease than when animal sources were chosen."

They also explained that low-car, high animal fat diets do not increase coronary heart disease risk because the side effects of high animal fat intake are counteracted by effects of low-carb foods: "One likely explanation that we did not see increased risk of CHD with low-carbohydrate diets is that the adverse effects of animal products might be counterbalanced by reducing refined carbohydrates. The quality of fat and carbohydrate is more important than quantity. A heart-healthy diet should embrace healthy types of fat and carbohydrates."