High Carb Diet for Safe Weight Loss Without Hunger?

by Michael Greger, M.D.

Any diet that restricts calorie intake can cause people to lose weight. Many fad diets accomplish this be being so restrictive or monotonous that people end up eating less. But lifelong weight control requires dietary changes people can safely and satisfactorily live with for a lifetime. And high carb diets may fit the bill.

A recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine showed that people randomized to an all-you-can-eat high carbohydrate diet actually lost weight.[9] People were provided with piles of food, 50% more than they needed to cover daily caloric requirements and were specifically told to eat as much as they wanted. Not only did those eating the high carb diets lose weight, but CT scans of their thighs showed that while those eating the control diet increased their percentage body fat, those on the high carb diet lost thigh fat mass while preserving muscle mass. And all this despite exercising less than the control group (who ate unlimited amounts of a lower-carb, higher-fat diet). The researchers theorized that the explanation lay in the fact that carbohydrate-rich foods tend to be more satiating and less calorie-dense than higher fat foods.

Proponents of low carb diets like the Atkins Diet claim that carbs stimulate insulin production, which leads to increased fat storage and decreased fat breakdown. Studies like this one in fact show exactly the opposite. Reputable scientific organizations like the American College of Sports Medicine, the American Heart Association, and the American Dietetics Association have all issued statements that high-protein high-fat low-carbohydrate diets are not only mostly ineffective, but may in fact cause harm.

By eating a whole foods plant-based diet one can control one's weight without risking one's health.

REFERENCES

[9]Archives of Internal Medicine 164(2004):210.