Healthy low-carbohydrate diet can reduce mortality rates

A new study by Yimin Zhao and team showed that overall and unhealthy low-carbohydrate diets (LCDs) had higher death rates, whereas healthy LCDs had somewhat reduced risks. The findings were published in Journal of Internal Medicine.

Global population aging and increased life expectancy place a significant strain on the health-care system. People over the age of 60 may account for half of the illness burden in high-income nations. Short-term clinical research has indicated that low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets are useful for weight reduction and cardiovascular benefits. As a result, the purpose of this research was to investigate the long-term relationships between LCDs, LFDs, and mortality in middle-aged and older persons.

This research enrolled 371,159 people between the ages of 50 and 71. Overall, healthy and unhealthy LCD and LFD scores were determined as markers of adherence to each dietary pattern based on energy intake of carbs, fat, and protein and their subtypes.

The key findings of this study were;

165,698 fatalities were observed over a median follow-up of 23.5 years. 

Participants with the highest overall LCD scores and unhealthy LCD scores had substantially greater odds of total and cause-specific death (hazard ratios [HRs]: 1.12-1.18). 

A healthy LCD, on the other hand, was linked with modestly decreased overall mortality (HR: 0.95; 95% CI: 0.94, 0.97). 

Furthermore, the highest quintile of a healthy LFD was related with 18% reduced overall mortality, 16% lower cardiovascular mortality, and 18% lower cancer mortality, compared to the lowest. 

Notably, replacing 3% of one's energy from saturated fat with another macronutrient subtype resulted in considerably decreased overall and cause-specific mortality. 

After replacing low-quality carbs with plant protein and unsaturated fat, mortality was considerably decreased.

These findings underscore the value of a healthy LFD low in saturated fat in avoiding all-cause and cause-specific mortality in middle-aged and older persons.

Reference: 

Zhao, Y., Li, Y., Wang, W., Song, Z., Zhuang, Z., Li, D., Qi, L., & Huang, T. (2023). Low‐carbohydrate diets, low‐fat diets, and mortality in middle‐aged and older people: A prospective cohort study. In Journal of Internal Medicine. Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1111/joim.13639