Is a Low Carb Diet Healthy?

 

“Is a Low Carb Diet Healthy?” This question has been swirling around the blogosphere lately with many different answers.
Some claim that really low-carb is the only way to go, others claim that eating low carb messed up their thyroid or other hormones.
One important distinction that must be made is between low-carb and grain-free. These two are often lumped together and then the argument is made that grain-freeis unhealthy because it is too low-carb.
Certainly, one could eat a very high carb grain-free diet, or a somewhat low-carb diet with grains. For the sake of understanding the health aspects of either diet, they must be separated.
You know how I feel about the dangers of grains, so for now, let’s just address the low-carb aspect.

Can Low Carb Affect Your Hormones?

Short answer: Yes. But this can vary widely by individual and can be both positive or negative, depending on the person.
Some people (a very small percentage of my clients) who jump into low carb from a very high carb diet will experience some thyroid-like side effects a few weeks or few months after switching such as fatigue, coldness in extremities, hair-loss or other problems.
The interesting factor here, is that when these people have their hormones tested, most thyroid panels will come back normal (because most doctors only test Thyroid Stimulating Hormone or TSH and T4 hormones).
In my experience, these clients are also ones who went low-carb for weight-loss reasons and often have an underlying hormone issue to begin with.
Interestingly, even for those who have completely normal blood results, adding a lot (like Standard American Diet a lot) of carbs back to the diet will make these symptoms go away. This obviously means that low-carb is bad for these individuals…. right? Nope! And actually could mean quite the opposite.
I’ve noticed with clients that those with the worst “carb flu” in the beginning either had a lot of weight to lose or had an underlying hormone imbalance, and that logically, these people would benefit the most from going low-carb in the long run. Unfortunately, because of the carb flu, these people often had a to take a gradual path to low-carb, or the symptoms would be overwhelming and they’d be overly fatigued.
For a long time, I considered this slow-transition a problem, and was able to find some things (adding more natural salt into the diet, taking magnesium and gelatin, etc.)  that made the transitions easier.
While these supplements do help the transition, and I’d recommend them anyway, a recent article by Dr. Cate Shanahan helped me understand why some individuals experience these thyroid like-symptoms after going low-carb for a while and explains why the slow-transition might actually be the best thing for these people.

What Causes It?

Dr. Shanahan explains that advanced thyroid testing will often reveal that these individuals have an extremely elevated reverse T3 level (rT3) and at this point, most doctors will prescribe T3 and think that the problem is solved. Dr. Shanahan explains the rT3 has the opposite effect of regular T3 and essentially makes the body think it needs to hibernate and prepares for such (weight gain, fatigue, brain fog, etc.).
Since high levels of rT3 can also lead to high LDL Cholesterol (that’s the bad one) this is definitely something that needs to be addressed!
Dr. Shanahan has a theory on this and explains it much better than I could:

In doing research on rT3, I ran into afascinating article on a group of little-understood compounds called thyronamines (pronounced thigh-row-na-meens). The key to understanding rT3, and unlocking the relationship between carbohydrate consumption and thyroid function, may lie in these newly discovered compounds.
Thyronamines have powerful effects on energy metabolism
Studies performed in 2010 showed that injecting thryronamines into the belly cavity or brain tissues of experimental animals cause the following physiologic and behavior changes:

• Impaired ability to utilize sugar as an energy source
• Insulin resistance
• Lowered basal body temperature
• Weaker than normal heart contractions
• A marked decline in activity (We can’t ask the lab animals, but presumably this would be induced by what we would describe as feelings of extreme fatigue)

She goes on to explain that this phenomenon is similar to bears before hibernation, and this drop in rT3 caused when berries and other readily available carbs disappear creates the fatigue needed for hibernation. Unfortunately, for those of us not interested in hibernation, this can be a problem.

So No Low-Carb?

That’s not what I’m saying at all, and compared to the amount of carbs that the average person consumes these days, “low-carb” is definitely more healthy. I still advocate removing grains, since, carbs or not, there is no need for grains.
If you are part of the group that suffers from severe carb flu when you remove carbs, or if you’ve gone low-carb for a while and then started to lose energy and gain weight, it’s possible that your rT3 is elevated.
Fortunately, while suddenly removing carbs shocks the system, doing it gradually often helps the system adjust. Dr. Shanahan recommends that patients who suffer from these symptoms go low-carb slowly beginning with breakfast and slowly reducing overall carbs over a period of time.
From what I’ve seen with my own clients, this can be helpful and necessary, especially for those who already have an underlying hormone struggle or who have a severe reaction to removing carbs.
I’d also suggest certain supplements to help support the body during the transition!

Bottom Line

Despite the recent firestorm of information about the possible “dangers” of low-carb and the “importance” of eating more carbs, especially from grains, I maintain that there is NO biological need to consume grains, even if you want to eat a high carb diet (try sweet potatoes, fruit, squash, etc.).
Most people will be able to transition to a low-carb diet, even quickly, without a problem, and those with a history of thyroid problems or hormone imbalances may just need to take it a little slower.
Unless a person’s endocrine system is severely damaged, he or she should be able to transition to a low-carb diet over a period of a few months without any adverse health reactions and see weight loss and health improvements as the body adjusts.

Trying to work out the best way to shift those extra festive pounds ready for the new year? Well, look no further; Mayo Clinic physicians say that low-carb diets are slightly better than low-fat diets for weight loss in the short-term.

Low-carb diets found to be slightly better for weight loss in the short-term, compared with low-fat diets.

The plethora of diets on the weight loss market is often confusing. Low-carb diets, in particular, go under numerous names - such as Atkins, South Beach, Paleo, and Ketogenic. So which of these is the best option for weight loss? Are the diets safe, and is there a huge difference in results between them?
The Mayo Clinic in Arizona aimed to review studies that examine low-carb diets, in order to find out if they are safe and effective for weight loss, and cardiovascular and metabolic health. They published the results of their study in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association.
Depending on the diet, the physicians found that the definition of low-carb diet is highly variable. Previous studies have shown low-carb diets as comprising less than 45 percent of daily calories from carbohydrates. However, this figure is not dissimilar to the typical Western diet that has more than 50 percent.
While all of the reviewed diets were based on the idea of carbohydrate restriction, the allowed carbs accounted for anywhere between 4-46 percent of daily calories, which the researchers say "convolutes the evidence."

Physicians advise eating 'real foods,' not highly processed meats

An analysis of 41 trials that evaluated the effects of low-carb diets on weight loss revealed that participants lost between 2.5-9 more pounds than individuals who followed a low-fat diet.
"The best conclusion to draw is that adhering to a short-term low-carb diet appears to be safe and may be associated with weight reduction," says Dr. Heather Fields, an internal medicine physician at Mayo Clinic and lead researcher on this study.
"However, that weight loss is small and of questionable clinical significance in comparison to low-fat diets. We encourage patients to eat real food and avoid highly processed foods, especially processed meats, such as bacon, sausage, deli meats, hot dogs, and ham when following any particular diet," she adds.
To analyze the potentially harmful effects and safety of low-carb diets, Fields and colleagues looked at research conducted between January 2005 and April 2016. People tend to eat more meat when carbohydrates are restricted, which could increase the risk of death from all causes, including cancer.
Most of the studies failed to provide the source or quality of proteins and fats consumed in the low-fat diets, making it difficult to draw conclusions linking excessive meat consumption to all-cause mortality and increased cancer risks.
However, the studies did show that compared with other diets, low-carb diets were effective for weight loss without adverse effects on blood pressure, glucose, and cholesterol.
"Physicians must keep in mind that the literature is surprisingly limited, considering the popularity of these diets and the claims of health benefits in the public press. Our review found no safety issues identified in the current literature, but patients considering low-carb diets should be advised there is very little data on long-term safety and efficacy," Field notes.

Low-carb diets may provide short-term weight loss satisfaction

Field notes that drawing broad conclusions proved difficult due to various limitations within the research. Some of the studies did not include information on the type of weight lost, such as whether it was fat, muscle, or water. Also, many of the studies relied on participants recalling foods and beverages they had consumed, which can be subject to error.
Dr. Tiffany Lowe-Payne, an osteopathic family physician, points out that several factors can affect a person's success with weight loss, including genetics, personal history, and their ability to stick to the diet.

"As an osteopathic physician, I tell patients there is no one-size-fits-all approach for health. When you think of what dieters want - and what they need to stay motivated - it is the satisfaction of results. They want to see significant weight loss and fast. For many, a low-carb lifestyle provides the answer they are looking for."

Dr. Tiffany Lowe-Payne

Dr. Lowe-Payne recognizes that carbohydrates make up a considerable part of many people's diets. She also highlights that after 6 months, weight loss is virtually the same for individuals regardless of whether they are on a low-carb or low-fat diet.
For patients who are trying to lower their blood sugar levels or manage insulin resistance, low-carb diets have been shown to be beneficial, Lowe-Payne concludes.
Read about how a high-fat diet may enhance the spread of cancer.

Written by Hannah Nichols