It was popularized by Dr. AtkinsIn the 1970s, the Atkins diet or low-carb diet was considered an easy and quick way to lose weight. In recent years, the Atkins diet has been used to manage metabolic disorders such as prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.
Critics say this simplistic approach to eating and drinking can lead to malnutrition if not managed properly.
Christina Vetter is a health and nutrition expert at Zoe, a company specializing in gut health. She says a low-carb diet can be difficult for many people to maintain because it can be very restrictive. To get the nutrition you need, a varied and healthy diet with high-quality foods is essential. Low-carb diets can leave you lacking in essential nutrients because they restrict the foods you eat.
A University of Vermont study examines both arguments to help better understand the health effects of low-carb diets. We also look at what this means for the industry.
Is a Low-Carb Diet Bad for Your Overall Health?
According to Data Bridge, a market research firm that provides market insights, the global low-carb diet market is expected to reach $12.49 billion by 2023.
Researchers Lani Banner and Beth H Rice Bradley, along with Dr Jonathan Clinthorne, conducted the study to evaluate three low-carb diets for their nutritional value.
- The first plan contains an average daily intake of 20 grams of net carbohydrates
- The second averages about 40 grams of net carbs per day
- The third contains 100 grams of net carbohydrates on average per day
All three diets meet the agreed definition of a low-carb diet, which is a diet that includes less than 130g of carbohydrates per day.
All three diets were found to exceed the nutritional needs of men and women aged 31 to 70 for vitamins A, C and D. They also exceeded those for folate and vitamins B6 and B12.
“Our findings show that low-carb eating habits, in addition to being a proven way to lose weight, can also help improve diet quality and fill critical nutritional gaps,” says Dr. Beth Bradley, a researcher in the Department of Nutrition and Food Science at the University of Vermont.
What are net carbs (net carbohydrates)?
Net carbs are the sum of total carbohydrates and total fiber.
The team noted that some populations with greater nutritional needs were not adequately served by the plans. Iron is recommended for young women and calcium for adults over 50.
Both meal plans that contain 40 grams or 100 grams of net carbs respectively provide more fiber than what is recommended daily.
The data simply doesn’t support the idea that low-carb diets need to be low in fiber, Dr. Bradley explains. High-fiber foods are a critical part of a low-carb diet, in part because they can reduce your net carb intake. In moderation, non-starchy vegetables, seeds, and nuts, and even starchy, high-carb vegetables and fruits can add fiber to your diet while keeping net carbs in check.
The researchers noted that while the protein content of the three low-carbohydrate diets was above the recommended daily allowances (RDAs), it was still within the acceptable ranges of macronutrient distribution (10 to 35 µg/kg). The diets were designed to provide more than enough protein to avoid deficiencies, but without providing an excess that could be considered dangerous.
Dr. Bradley says nutrition is more complicated than just adding up the numbers on food labels or menus. The source of nutrients and their role in your diet may be more important in determining your health.
What can the food and beverage industry do to capitalize on the popularity of low-carb diets?
Food and beverage manufacturers can capitalize on the low-carb diet by creating meals that contain all the nutrients an individual needs. If you are concerned that a low-carb diet may lead to malnutrition, offer complete meals in the form of prepared foods or meal replacement drinksThis could bring many benefits to consumers and create a whole new market.
Stephanie Mattucci is associate director of food science at Mintel, a market research company.
What is a low-carb diet?
Low-carb diets are a weight loss strategy popularized in the 1970s by Dr. Robert Atkins.
While there is no set formula for carbohydrate intake, the general idea is to reduce overall intake. The three main macronutrients found in food are carbohydrates, fat, and protein. According to a study from the National Library of Medicine, low-carb is defined as a percentage of total daily carbohydrate intake or daily macronutrient consumption. The study defined low-carb diets as:
- Low-carb diets (10-300 grams of carbohydrates) or between 20 and 50 grams per day
- Low-carb diet (26 % carbohydrates or less than 130 g/day)
- Moderate Carbohydrate Foods (26 %-44 %)
- Foods high in carbohydrates (45 % or more)
Source: Analysis of nutrient content of three different low-carb diets
Publication date: August 30, 2024
DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1449109
Lani Banner and Beth H Rice Bradley are the authors.
English 
French