I find food culture and food science focusing more and more on ‘debates’ these days. Maybe it’s be-cause the debates – some of which have been raging for a long time – are finally being resolved. Like the one about whether a low-fat or low-carb diet is better…
Pizza: The world’s Favourite Food – And probably the worst dietary offender for
high carbs AND high fat… But you can still enjoy it guiltlessly now and then…
You’ll no doubt remember the faddish crazes a few years back, for Low-Carb and Low-Fat diets. Both claimed to produce significant weight loss. But on closer examination both proved to be less than smart, nutritionally.
“Both low-fat and low-carb diets are effective for weight loss, primarily through calorie restriction rather than metabolic magic.” Google AI reports. “Low-carb diets often yield faster initial results (water weight) and better cardiovascular markers (triglycerides/HDL), while low-fat diets are gen-erally easier to maintain long-term and often better for lowering LDL cholesterol.”
But is one better?
A massive new study has finally answered the question of which is better 0- a low-fat or low-carb diet. But the answer remains somewhat equivocal…
“Low-carbohydrate and low-fat eating plans are common in the United States. However, scientists have not fully understood their long-term effects on heart health, especially when considering the quality of foods included in each pattern,” an abstract of the study report begins. “This research stands out as one of the largest and most detailed investigations to date, examining diet quality, metabolomic data, and CHD risk in nearly 200,000 U.S. adults followed for more than 30 years.”
What they did
Researchers from the American College of Cardiology embarked on a massive data-mining study of health records from more than 200,000 American adults followed for more than 30 years.
The team was specifically interested in determining how each eating plan effects cardio-vascular health, with a view to the long term.
What they found
The analysis revealed several important patterns:
- Healthy versions of both low-carb and low-fat diets that emphasized plant-based foods, whole grains and unsaturated fats were associated with a significantly lower risk of CHD.
- Unhealthy versions that were high in refined carbohydrates and animal-based fats and proteins were linked to a greater risk of CHD.
- Higher-quality diets were also associated with lower triglyceride levels, higher HDL cholesterol and reduced inflammation.
- Metabolomic testing supported these findings, showing favourable biomarker patterns among people who followed healthier diet patterns.
“These results suggest that healthy low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets may share common biological pathways that improve cardiovascular health,” said Zhiyuan Wu, of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and lead author of the study. “Focusing on overall diet quality may offer flexibility for individuals to choose eating patterns that align with their preferences while still supporting heart health.”
The takeaway
“Our findings highlighted that it’s not simply about cutting carbs or fat, but it’s about the quality of foods people choose to construct those diets,” Wu explains.
An independent reviewer agrees: “This study helps move the conversation beyond the long-standing debate over low-carbohydrate versus low-fat diets,” said Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, Editor-in-Chief of JACC. “The findings show that what matters most for heart health is the quality of the foods people eat. Whether a diet is lower in carbohydrates or fat, emphasizing plant-based foods, whole grains, and healthy fats is associated with better cardiovascular outcomes.”
My take
It’s good to know that science has finally settled the low-carb versus low fat debate. But it’s been better to see that, when the all the science is set aside, good old common sense has prevailed once again!
~ Maggie J.