Photo: Brenda Godinez via StockSnap, public domain.
If you're cutting carbs, what you replace them with matters: swapping carbohydrates for plant protein and fat was linked to an 18% lower risk of death, while swapping them for animal protein and fat was linked to an 18% higher risk, a major study has found.
Researchers led by Sara Seidelmann at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston followed 15,428 US adults in the ARIC study for a median of 25 years, during which 6,283 died, then combined the results with seven other cohorts in a meta-analysis of 432,179 people. The study is published in The Lancet Public Health. Getting 50-55% of energy from carbohydrates was linked to the lowest risk.
The animal-based swaps were foods like lamb, beef, pork and chicken, while the plant-based ones included vegetables, nuts, peanut butter and whole-grain breads. Dr. Seidelmann told the BBC:
Instead, if one chooses to follow a low carbohydrate diet, then exchanging carbohydrates for more plant-based fats and proteins might actually promote healthy ageing in the long term.
Nuts, seeds, beans, tofu and wholegrain bread are an easy way to get the plant-based version right.
It echoes the Adventist study that linked meat protein to 61% higher heart death risk and nuts and seeds to 40% lower, and the cardiologists' verdict on plant protein.
Same macros, better source, longer life. Plants win again!