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Low‐Carbohydrate Diets, Con: The Mythical Phoenix or Credible Science?
Author(s) -
Kushner Robert F.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
nutrition in clinical practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.725
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1941-2452
pISSN - 0884-5336
DOI - 10.1177/011542650502000113
Subject(s) - medicine , hyperinsulinemia , carbohydrate , insulin resistance , obesity , metabolic disease , food science , intensive care medicine , endocrinology , biology
Low‐carbohydrate diets are based on an alternative theory of obesity where dietary carbohydrate, particularly unprocessed sugars, causes hyperinsulinemia, leading to insulin resistance, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. In this model, carbohydrate is viewed as a “metabolic poison” and therefore is limited in the diet. This article systematically reviews and refutes the 6 major physiologic claims made by proponents of low‐carbohydrate diets. Any benefits or advantages resulting from these diets must therefore be derived from factors other than those stated by the alternative theory.