Low-Carbohydrate Diet Review: Shifting the Paradigm

Great summary from that Paleo Guy

Now a paper has recently been published reviewing the safety and effectiveness of using a low-carb diet approach as opposed to the conventional wisdom of low fat eating. It is a very well written and easy to read paper that I will be more than happy to pass over to anyone suggesting I have no evidence to support my paradigm.

Low-Carbohydrate Diet Review: Shifting the Paradigm

The authors tackle the barriers to acceptance by conventional clinicians, and don't really pull any punches when doing so.

As clinicians, we must evaluate all possible solutions to improvement in patient care, recognizing that the majority of our population is overweight or obese. We must at times step back from academic research and focus on basic physiology, common sense, and—most importantly—the patient. Observational studies are no substitute for a patient with a glucometer. Conventional scientific and medical thinking has been wrong before;

Although Americans have changed their eating habits toward the recommended lower fat and higher carbohydrate intake, the current epidemic of obesity and diabetes would suggest that these recommendations have had little impact on improving health. It is time to move beyond outdated notions that persist far beyond any scientific evidence to support them, the clinical versions of “urban myths,”and put the patient first.

The clinical urban myths that are sustained by conventionally-minded health professionals, which are addressed by this paper include adverse effects on kidney function (no evidence), insufficient fibre (the opposite is true due to an increase in leafy green intake on a low carb diet), and the persistent concern that the removal of carbohydrate will see an increase in arterycloggingsaturatedfat;

The effect of saturated fat on heart disease is dependent on the overall characteristics of the diet and, in particular, the effects of carbohydrate on insulin that shift the metabolism toward fatty acid synthesis and storage. Recent meta analyses and epidemiologic studies show that replacement of carbohydrate with saturated fat is, if anything, beneficial for risk reduction; these results must be added to the failure of numerous large-scale population studies to show a correlation between dietary saturated fat and cardiovascular disease.