Low carbohydrate diet could reduce your lifespan, says study

A study says people who cut carbohydrates from their diets may be inadvertently shortening their lifespan.

Low carbohydrates diet is basically eating a lot of protein, mostly meat and dairy products, and consuming little of vegetables, fruit and grains.

According to the study, people who hardly eat carbohydrate are at higher risk of heart disease, stroke and cancer.

After observing data on 25,000 people, researchers at the Medical University of Lodz, Poland, found that those who ate the fewest carbohydrates per day had a higher risk of dying over the next six years.

Their odds of dying from heart disease or stroke were about 50 percent higher, while their risk of death from cancer was 35 percent greater.

The participants were asked about their usual eating habits, including the amount of carbohydrates they consumed — and were subsequently divided into four groups based on the percentage of carbohydrates in their diets.

“Low-carbohydrate diets might be useful in the short term to lose weight, lower blood pressure and improve blood [sugar] control,” said Maciej Banach, the study’s lead researcher.

“But our study suggests that in the long term they are linked with an increased risk of death from any cause, and deaths due to cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease and cancer.”

The research was recently presented at the European Society of Cardiology’s annual meeting, in Munich, Germany.