Macro partitioning
Adopting a restricted carbohydrate diet defined as less than 45% of total energy intake does not significantly alter the risk of all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), or cardiometabolic disease (CMD) mortality compared to consuming 45-65% of energy from carbohydrates.
If you choose to eat a diet where less than 45% of your calories come from carbohydrates, current large-scale data suggests this will not increase your risk of dying from heart disease, metabolic disease, or any other cause compared to eating the standard recommended amount (45-65%). You do not need to fear moderate carbohydrate restriction regarding mortality risk, provided you maintain a balanced intake of fats.
Compared to individuals that met carbohydrate recommendations (45-65%en), those that consumed carbohydrate restricted diets (<45%en) did not have significantly altered risk of mortality from all-causes (HR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.87, 1.11), CMD (1.18; 0.95, 1.46), or CVD (1.20; 0.96, 1.49).
Why this rating
Large sample size (n=35,888), long follow-up (mean 10.2 years), and use of nationally representative data (NHANES) with rigorous statistical adjustment.
Source
Restricted carbohydrate diets below 45% energy are not associated with risk of mortality in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999–2018
Austin Angelotti et al. · Frontiers in Nutrition · 2024
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