(Thomson Reuters) — People who cut back on carbohydrates may end up increasing their risk of premature death if they load their plates with meat and cheese instead of vegetables and nuts, a U.S. study suggests.
While previous research has linked low-carbohydrate diets to better success with short-term weight loss and improvements in risk factors for premature death like diabetes, less is known about the long-term outcomes of cutting carbs, or what types of foods people should eat instead for optimal health.
For the current study, researchers followed more than 15,000 adults ages 45 to 65 for about 25 years. During this period, 6,283 died.
Participants who got 50 to 55 percent of their calories from carbohydrates had a lower risk of death from all causes during the study period than people who had much lower or higher carbohydrate intake, researchers report in the journal The Lancet Public Health. (…)