Mixed
Combining a low-carbohydrate diet (approx. 50g carbs/day) with exercise (MICT or HIIT) significantly reduces anxiety levels in overweight young women, whereas the low-carbohydrate diet alone does not.
If you are overweight and feeling anxious, simply cutting carbs may not help your mental health and might even cause social stress. However, adding regular exercise (either moderate continuous cycling or high-intensity intervals) to a low-carb diet significantly reduces anxiety. Focus on the exercise component as the key driver for mental health benefits, not just the diet.
There were significant reductions in anxiety levels in the LC-EXE compared with the LC-CON group... Significant improvements in... anxiety (~25% p < 0.01) in the LC-EXE compared with the LC-CON group... while no statistical changes were found in eating behaviors in any conditions after the 4-week intervention.
Why this rating
Randomized controlled trial with adequate sample size (n=74) and clear statistical significance (p<0.01), though short duration (4 weeks).
Source
Effect of a Low-Carbohydrate Diet With or Without Exercise on Anxiety and Eating Behavior and Associated Changes in Cardiometabolic Health in Overweight Young Women
Mingzhu Hu et al. · Frontiers in Nutrition · 2022
DOI 10.3389/fnut.2022.894916
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