Diet trends like low-carb and low-fat diets are all the rage for weight loss, but what about their long-term effects on how long we live?
A new study from Japan suggests that these extreme diets may not be the ticket to a long life.
Interestingly, the study found that what might be harmful for men could be different from what’s harmful for women.
What’s The Study About?
Researchers from Nagoya University in Japan, led by Dr. Takashi Tamura, tracked the eating habits of over 81,000 people in Japan for nine years.
Their goal was to find out if there was a link between how many carbohydrates and fats people ate and how long they lived.
The study is unique because it also focuses on Japanese individuals, who usually eat differently from people in Western countries.
To gauge what people were eating, researchers used food questionnaires to estimate the daily intake of carbohydrates and fats. They also looked at the quality of these carbs and fats.
Were they eating refined carbs like white bread, or were they eating minimally processed ones like whole grains?
The Findings: Men and Women Are Different
Here’s the gist: For men, eating too few carbohydrates was linked with a higher risk of dying from any cause, especially cancer. It didn’t matter whether these were refined or whole-grain carbs.
For women, the story was different. Those who ate a lot of carbohydrates were more likely to die sooner.
However, women who ate more fat seemed to live longer. In fact, the study concluded that high fat intake doesn’t appear to be bad for women’s longevity at all.
Dr. Tamura suggests that these differences between men and women could be because of other things in foods that contain fats, or it might just be that men and women process fats differently.
What Does This Mean For Your Diet?
The study throws a wrench in the idea that cutting carbs or fats drastically is a one-size-fits-all solution for a longer life. In fact, going to extremes with your diet might do more harm than good.
If you’re a man, cutting carbs drastically might not be a great idea, while women might want to think twice before going on a very low-fat diet.
So, what should we do? The simple answer is balance. Instead of cutting out carbs or fats, aim for a variety of foods in your diet.
Don’t focus too much on just one nutrient, and try to get a balance of different types of foods, from proteins and fats to carbohydrates.
This study gives us another reason to pause and reconsider the dieting trends that are so popular today. While they might promise quick weight loss, their long-term effects on our lifespan are still not clear.
Plus, what’s good for one gender might not be good for the other. As always, it’s a good idea to talk to a healthcare provider before making major changes to your diet.
If you care about wellness, please read studies about fruit that may keep your muscles young and a new drug that could delay muscle aging.
For more information about wellness, please see recent studies that olive oil may help you live longer, and vitamin D could help lower the risk of autoimmune diseases.
The study was published in The Journal of Nutrition.
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