Studies Show Low Carb High Protein Diets Damage Arteries And The Heart

Low carbs diets have become popular because they result in weight loss and a desired physical image. Weight loss should be more than merely about presenting a particular image, and should be about supporting health. Though low-carb high-protein diets support weight loss, they do so at the expense of cardiovascular health.

The low carbohydrate diet focuses on the reduction of the consumption of carbohydrates, and promotes the consumption of protein and fat. The low carbohydrate diet targets carbohydrate consumption because the body will generally burn them before it burns fat. Minimizing carbohydrate consumption allows the body to focus on burning fat.

The low carbohydrate diet minimizes the consumption of carbohydrates, and also reduces the consumption of energy providing fat so the body will focus on burning stored fat. This leaves protein being the staple of the diet. In the short-term the low carbohydrate diet does successfully promote weight loss, but it loses its effectiveness in the long run and becomes harmful to healthy living.

The benefits a low carbohydrate diet provides in promoting a desired physical image does not outweigh the harm it causes to arteries. A study by Fleming^[1] showed a vegetarian diet reduce heart disease, while a low carb diet increased heart disease. The study evaluated arterial blood flow, arterial elasticity, and variables:

“…homocysteine, Lp (a), C-reactive protein (C-RP), triglycerides, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and fibrinogen levels.”

Both groups received the same medical intervention and subjects in the vegetarian group showed a reduction in the extent and severity of coronary heart disease and the associated variables. Subjects in the low carbohydrate diet group showed a progression of coronary heart disease and the associated variables.

This study^[2] in The British Journal of Nutrition also measured arterial blood and found that a diet high in protein and fat and low in carbohydrates resulted in poorer peripheral small artery function.

The buildup of plaque on artery walls, atherosclerosis, has been shown to reduce artery elasticity and interfere with proper delivery of oxygen and nutrients. The buildup of plague can also lead the over-saturation and crystallization of cholesterol that can rupture the plague lining arteries. These ruptures allow globs of crystallized cholesterol to enter the bloodstream and block arteries, leading to compromised arterial and heart function.

Though low carbohydrate diets successfully result in weight loss they also compromise artery and heart health and increase mortality.