Research

Macro partitioning

In older Chinese adults, a vegetable-based low-carbohydrate diet (high-quality carbs, plant protein, unsaturated fat) is associated with higher all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality, whereas a meat-based low-carbohydrate diet (low-quality carbs, animal protein, saturated fat) is associated with lower mortality.

If you are following a low-carbohydrate diet, pay close attention to the source of your carbohydrates and fats. In older adults, particularly those with Asian dietary backgrounds, a vegetable-based low-carb diet (high in plant proteins and unsaturated fats) was associated with higher mortality, while a meat-based low-carb diet (higher in animal proteins and saturated fats) was associated with lower mortality. This suggests that simply reducing carbohydrates is not enough; the quality and source of the remaining macronutrients are critical. Consult with a healthcare provider to tailor your diet to your specific health profile and cultural context.

GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
vegetable-based LCD score was positively, whereas meat-based LCD score was negatively associated with all-cause and CVD mortality.
Ce Sun et al. · Research Square · 2022

Why this rating

Large prospective cohort (n=20,206), long follow-up (15 years), rigorous adjustment for confounders, but observational design limits causal inference.

Source

Low-Carbohydrate Diets and Mortality in Older Chinese: A 15-Year Follow-Up of Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study

Ce Sun et al. · Research Square · 2022

DOI 10.21203/rs.3.rs-1291988/v1

cohort · n=20206
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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