Is low carb dangerous? possibly.

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Colorscheme
Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I don't eat low carb, but I was wondering if low carb diets long term are unhealthy. I came across an NIH article that detailed how many carbs, proteins and fats each and every organ of your body requires. It said that the brain alone requires 120-130 grams of carbs a day to remain healthy. To me, that implies eating a low carb diet may be starving the organs when done long enough.

Thoughts?

This is the article for anyone interested: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK22436/

[I am not debating the efficiency of low carb vs CICO for weight loss, I am talking about it's long term effects on organs]
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Replies

  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
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    It is glucose that the body requires and your body can make up any lack of glucose without problem, otherwise people people would have to eat very small meals every hour or so, including throughout the night in order to keep the glucose supply steady.

    It is thought low carb is safe. I haven't seen any studies longer than a year or two. There aren't many studies on any diets and their long term safety though.
  • Colorscheme
    Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
    edited January 2016
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    Yes, I was wondering if maybe there were long term studies done on low carb but I guess not, it might be too big of a liability.

    Curious, how do you get glucose if you're following a low carb diet? Don't you eventually run out of glucose storage? Glucose is broken down into sugar and as far as I know, low carb bans most forms of sugar, even fruit and whatnot except for berries. Atkins specifically comes to mind.
  • TheBeachgod
    TheBeachgod Posts: 825 Member
    edited January 2016
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    Low carb isn't healthy for those around me! I've noticed I'm moody as hell and absent minded when I go low carb. I quit doing it after I figured that out.

    I have no idea if there's any science to back that up but it made a difference for me.
  • Colorscheme
    Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
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    TheBeachgod wrote: »
    Low carb isn't healthy for those around me! I've noticed I'm moody as hell and absent minded when I go low carb. I quit doing it after I figured that out.

    I have no idea if there's any science to back that up but it made a difference for me.

    Interesting. Wonder if it's the result of starving your brain of carbohydrates. I've heard of low carb people complaining of brain fog.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    The South African meerkat carries hardly any fat reserves, so it must eat constantly. They've developed an interesting cooperative social structure to survive.

    http://www.livescience.com/27406-meerkats.html

    http://www.animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/meerkat/

    Low carb can be dangerous for T1 diabetics and hypoglycemics especially, as sometimes they need a fast acting carb to get out of a low.
  • Colorscheme
    Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
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    jgnatca wrote: »
    The South African meerkat carries hardly any fat reserves, so it must eat constantly. They've developed an interesting cooperative social structure to survive.

    http://www.livescience.com/27406-meerkats.html

    http://www.animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/meerkat/

    Low carb can be dangerous for T1 diabetics and hypoglycemics especially, as sometimes they need a fast acting carb to get out of a low.

    Wouldn't a diabetic know that though? My friend has type 1 diabetes and she's vigilant about what her body needs and how much, and always tests her blood sugar levels and takes insulin.

    I've heard of more people ignoring their diabetes and suffering from lost limbs and leg issue as well as blindness and eventual death as a result :/

  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
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    Your body can convert protein to glucose as well.
  • Slinn1985
    Slinn1985 Posts: 58 Member
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    Just control the carb intake. How can you live without lovely lovely carbs.
  • Colorscheme
    Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
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    Hornsby wrote: »
    Your body can convert protein to glucose as well.

    Ah, I didn't know that. Is it enough to sustain the amount of energy the brain needs though? How much protein gets converted into glucose? I'm genuinely curious :D
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    You seem to have a bee in your bonnet about low carb diets.
  • EddieHaskell97
    EddieHaskell97 Posts: 2,227 Member
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    Dangerous? Not from my experience. I spent over a year in ketosis (not ketoacidosis) with mostly positive effects (and an admitted non-stop craving for pizza.) My body readily converted fat to ketones. I lost over 60 lbs in six months.
  • Colorscheme
    Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
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    Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
    You seem to have a bee in your bonnet about low carb diets.

    Cool, thanks for assuming! Too bad you're wrong.
  • Colorscheme
    Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
    edited January 2016
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    EddieHaskell97 wrote: »
    Dangerous? Not from my experience. I spent over a year in ketosis (not ketoacidosis) with mostly positive effects (and an admitted non-stop craving for pizza.) My body readily converted fat to ketones. I lost over 60 lbs in six months.

    Thanks for sharing your experience. But one year isn't long enough to determine the effects of low carb on organs. Someone upthread said there have been no long term studies but I guess that's for liability reasons.

    Honestly, I didn't even consider low carb's effects on organs until I read the NIH article this morning, since I follow a moderate carb way of eating as I do a lot of running.
  • cmarangi
    cmarangi Posts: 131 Member
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    The brain fog that is referred to is usually when your body is transitioning from burning carbs for easy energy to your body becoming fat adapted and burning fat. Many of us simply function better on lower carbs. I am actually clearer headed when I am eating how my body prefers, which is around 50-100 carbs a day, technically not super low carb, but lower than most.
  • Colorscheme
    Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
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    cmarangi wrote: »
    The brain fog that is referred to is usually when your body is transitioning from burning carbs for easy energy to your body becoming fat adapted and burning fat. Many of us simply function better on lower carbs. I am actually clearer headed when I am eating how my body prefers, which is around 50-100 carbs a day, technically not super low carb, but lower than most.

    I'm not saying low carb doesn't help one function better. I was interested in the long term implications, but apparently no studies have been done, boo.

    That said, I'm glad it's helped you!
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    realityfades wrote: »
    jgnatca wrote: »
    The South African meerkat carries hardly any fat reserves, so it must eat constantly. They've developed an interesting cooperative social structure to survive.

    http://www.livescience.com/27406-meerkats.html

    http://www.animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/meerkat/

    Low carb can be dangerous for T1 diabetics and hypoglycemics especially, as sometimes they need a fast acting carb to get out of a low.

    Wouldn't a diabetic know that though? My friend has type 1 diabetes and she's vigilant about what her body needs and how much, and always tests her blood sugar levels and takes insulin.

    I've heard of more people ignoring their diabetes and suffering from lost limbs and leg issue as well as blindness and eventual death as a result :/

    Yes, diabetics should all attend training to understand their disease, and vigilant diabetics will be on the lookout for highs and lows.

    Yet, low carb diets are de rigeur in the US right now it seems, to help insulin resistant and T2 diabetics lose weight and lower their blood sugar.

    I'll keep repeating until people get it, diabetes is a disease best treated as a balancing act, not going too high or too low with their blood sugars.

    When a person's blood sugar drops too low, their cognitive function is impaired and they may not be aware enough to say, eat a cookie right away. Those around them may need to act quickly to prevent them from slipping in to a diabetic coma. The first aid treatment for someone who appears to be experiencing a diabetic high or low (the two may present similarly) is to give them a fast acting carb right away. This is because it will "cure" the low nearly instantly, and won't do immediate damage if the patient's blood sugar is too high.
  • kasperwasper2016
    kasperwasper2016 Posts: 10 Member
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    realityfades wrote: »
    Hornsby wrote: »
    Your body can convert protein to glucose as well.

    Ah, I didn't know that. Is it enough to sustain the amount of energy the brain needs though? How much protein gets converted into glucose? I'm genuinely curious :D

    If you mean few enough carbs to induce Ketosis, you could look up "Ketone Bodies" on wikipedia or elsewhere for some good intel.

    Brain function tends to suffer a bit initially (brain-fog, cranky, etc) but once you're body stops waiting for more carbs and makes the switch, you're good to go.

    :)
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
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    realityfades wrote: »
    EddieHaskell97 wrote: »
    Dangerous? Not from my experience. I spent over a year in ketosis (not ketoacidosis) with mostly positive effects (and an admitted non-stop craving for pizza.) My body readily converted fat to ketones. I lost over 60 lbs in six months.

    Thanks for sharing your experience. But one year isn't long enough to determine the effects of low carb on organs. Someone upthread said there have been no long term studies but I guess that's for liability reasons.

    Honestly, I didn't even consider low carb's effects on organs until I read the NIH article this morning, since I follow a moderate carb way of eating as I do a lot of running.

    I really doubt it's for liability reasons. All sorts of studies can be very high risk and are still done. Most likely they aren't done because of the same reason there are no long term studies on any diet. Controlled diet experiments are very expensive. Long term cohort studies have far more error (recall bias and variability due to people going off diet for a while), but are more common because they are easier to conduct. There are several longer studies of populations/communities that have tended to eat lower carb, but I do not think there have been any newer studies just because it hasn't been a popular diet until recently.
  • Cjane1166
    Cjane1166 Posts: 2 Member
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    I have a LOT of weight to lose. I have tried EVERY SINGLE DIET out there. I went back to low carb at the beginning of the year. I've lost 11.5 pounds so far. I know that will even out and lessen as time goes on. I will say that with this way of eating, I have never felt better. The first few days are the hardest as you detox from sugar/junk. Day four for me, honestly, I didn't think I was gonna make it. LOL I mean... I was beyond *kitten* to my husband, and wanted to cry. I felt nauseous. Woke up day five and felt like a new person. If you can stick it out the first few days knowing that it gets better, it's worth it. I feel amazing. No cravings...never starving. I usually have to remember to eat something...which at 150 lbs to lose you know is not something I'm used to having to remember :) Definitely no brain fog. I feel more alert, focused, etc. Had blood work done a few days back and it's all great. Cholesterol, triglycerides, everything. My biggest struggle is redoing everything about how I cook for my family. I have to relearn how to cook. My husband is diabetic, and it's helped his blood sugar numbers as well. He does eat a few more carbs just so his blood doesn't go to low.
  • AmazonGoddessofDoom
    AmazonGoddessofDoom Posts: 5 Member
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    Your body can use fat instead of carbs. Most people who go on a low carb diet and don't thrive is because they're not getting enough fat. There are a ton of studies available if you Google.

    I have some friends who are low carb and her husband is a molecular biologist studying epigenetics and the science behind low carbing and how their bodies function better is why they've chosen to eat this way. They've been low carb for probably five years and they're both in amazing health.

    For me, it fixes so many of my problems. I have Hashimotos, PCOS, ADHD, hidradenitis supprativa, depression, fibro... the list goes on. When I'm eating low carb, my medication works better, I sleep better, I'm not in pain and all my other issues just kind of go away. It works for me.

    Also, I have a family history of diabetes and when your thyroid is giving you issues, it can affect your A1C as well. Low carb lowered my A1C and put me back in a normal range. My endocrinologist recs low carb high fat diets to most of his patients with autoimmune disorders.

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