Thursday, January 8, 2009

Live Long And Prosper On A Low Carb Diet


Low-carbohydrate diets may eventually prove themselves to have life-extending properties. In animal research, the only consistent intervention that produces increases in life span is calorie-restriction. Whether the same applies to humans has not yet been established, but we do know that cutting calorie intake often produces marked improvements in important health parameters, such as blood glucose control. Unfortunately, telling people to voluntarily limit their calorie intake on a long-term basis tends to be a very poorly-received piece of advice. Low carbohydrate diets, however, may render such unpopular admonitions redundant. Dietary intervention studies have revealed a rather unique phenomenon; subjects following low carbohydrate diets, despite being told to limit only carbohydrate intake and to eat unrestricted amounts of protein and fat, often inadvertently reduce their total calorie intake to levels similar to those seen in subjects who have been explicitly instructed to lower their total calorie intake.

6 comments:

~Oct said...

I think I fall into the category of people who restrict carbs and inadvertently consume less calories as a result. Very interesting post,
Paul. Do you happen to know how many calories is the limit to improve health? For female, mid 30's. :) Thanks!

Harry/JP said...

Excellent piece, Paul. Would love to see more of your views, as time permits.

Happy to see you back. :)

I hope all is well for you, your son and that the new year is treating all your loved ones well.

Anonymous said...

Very interesting, Paul. Eating low carb tends to limit calories naturally. Would you rather live on 1500 calories of delicious fat and protein (real food) or lots of carrot sticks and celery and bread?
And I think our bodies push us to keep eating til we get actual nutrition. LC gives our cells what they need, so they are satisfied. It all makes so much sense! Thanks for the post.

Vadim said...

Welcome back!

NewVision said...

Welcome back, great to see you posting!

Paul said...

I know that if your body gets to little calories it can go into starvation mode. Interstingly though this almost never happens on a low carb diet. Its best to work with a doctor you trust that supports low carb way of life.