9 Scientifically Proven Benefits of Low Carb Diets

June 8, 2023 Bec Miller

Low carb diets have been disputed and questioned for decades.

So many people think that low carb (higher fat) diets raise their cholesterol and cause heart disease, but this couldn’t be further from the truth, it is a big fat myth.

In most scientific studies, low carb diets prove to be healthy, sustainable and actually beneficial at reducing your risk for heart disease.

How?

Let’s get into it!

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1.Low carb diets cause a reduction in appetite

Hunger is definitely the worst side effect of dieting, right?! It’s the main reason people feel horrible and end up giving up.

However, healthy low carb eating results in an automatic reduction in appetite (1)*

Studies show over and over again, that when people cut carbs and eat more protein and fat, fewer calories are consumed throughout the day, leading to weight loss (2)*.

Low carb recipes from my programs!

2. Low carb diets cause more weight loss initially

Dropping your carbohydrate intake is one of the most effective ways to lose weight.

Studies show that people who follow a low carb diet lose weight faster than those who follow a low fat diet, despite calories being the same in both.

Why? Low-carb diets cause excess water to leave your body and lower your insulin levels, leading to rapid weight loss in the first week or two (3, 4).

In studies that have compared low-fat diets to low-carb diets, the people on low carb diets were found to lose 2–3 times as much weight — without being hungry! (5, 6).

Almost without exception, low-carb diets always lead to more short-term weight loss than low-fat diets. However, both seem to be equal after about 6 months.

3. A larger proportion of fat comes off from the stomach area!

Where fat is stored in your body determines how it affects your risk of disease and general health.

Visceral fat, which accumulates in your abdominal region and around your organs, is the most dangerous type of fat.

Excess visceral fat is associated with insulin resistance and inflammation, which may drive the metabolic dysfunction which is so incredibly common and a growing problem in the Western world today (7)

Low-carb diets are extremely effective at helping to reduce this abdominal fat (8).

If a low carb diet is followed for an extended period of time, it should lead to a drastically reduced risk type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

4. Triglycerides Tend to Drop Drastically

Firstly, what are triglycerides? They’re fat molecules that circulate in your blood.

When you have high fasting triglyceride levels in your blood (ie after waking), it is a strong heart disease risk factor (9)

One of the most common drivers in the world that causes high triglycerides in sedentary people is carb consumption, especially the simple sugar, fructose. (10, 11, 12).

However, it’s very promising that when people cut the carbs, they experience a very dramatic drop in blood triglycerides (13, 14).

In comparison, low-fat diets often cause triglycerides to increase (15, 16).

5. The “good” cholesterol increases (HDL)

(HDL) or high-density lipoprotein is often referred to as the “good” cholesterol.

The higher your levels of HDL when compared to the “bad” LDL, the lower your risk of heart disease (17, 18, 19). IE, we want a high HDL/LDL ratio.

One of the best ways to increase “good” HDL levels is to actually eat healthy fats, and low-carb diets include a lot of fat (20). Myth busted!!

Therefore, HDL levels increase significantly on healthy, low-carb diets (like the one I use in my approach, while they actually tend to increase only slightly or even decline on low-fat diets (21, 22).

6. Reduced insulin and blood sugar levels

Diabetes and insulin resistance affects millions of people in the world. Low carb and keto diets can be particularly helpful for people that suffer from this.

Scientific studies have proven that lowering carbs decreases both blood sugar and insulin levels drastically (23, 24)

When some people with diabetes have began a low-carb diet, they’ve needed to reduce their insulin dosage by half almost immediately (25).

In a study in people with type 2 diabetes for instance, 95% had lowered or completely eliminated their glucose-lowering meds within six months! (26).

Important: If you take medication for your blood sugar, please talk to your doctor before making any dietary changes, as your dosage may need to be adjusted.

7. Blood pressure may be lowered

Hypertension, or elevated blood pressure, is a significant risk factor for many diseases, including stroke, heart disease, and kidney failure.

Studies have found that low carb diets are an effective way to lower blood pressure, which should reduce your risk of these diseases and in turn, help you live longer (27, 28).

8. Effective against metabolic syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a condition that is highly associated with heart disease and diabetes and is an assembly of symptoms, including:

Elevated blood pressure
Abdominal obesity
Elevated fasting blood sugar levels
Low “good” HDL cholesterol levels
High blood triglycerides

However, a low-carb diet has been found to be extremely effective in treating all five of these symptoms! (29, 30).

These conditions are nearly eliminated when treated with a healthy, low carb diet.

9. Improved ‘bad” LDL cholesterol levels

Yes, it has been proven that people who exhibit “bad” LDL are more likely to have heart attacks.

However, what people don’t realise is that the size of the particles is what is actually important.

LDL particles can be small or large.

The smaller particles are the ones that are linked to an increased risk for heart disease, while the larger, more fluffier particles are linked to a lower risk (31, 32, 33).

Guess what? Science proves that low-carb diets increase the size of the small LDL particles (making them the larger, lower risk particles) whilst reducing the number of total LDL particles altogether in your blood. (34).

What does this mean? Lowering your carb consumption by following a safe, nutritionally balanced, low carb diet can boost your heart health!

As you can see, in most scientific studies, low carb diets prove to be healthy, sustainable and actually beneficial at reducing your risk for heart disease, boosting weight loss and improving your length of life.

Ready to start a safe, low carb meal plan without any of the guesswork and slim down without the hunger?

Start with my signature plan, the 3 Week Body Reset, helping thousands of women worldwide stop the yo-yo dieting with indulgent, low carb, easy and satisfying meals that the entire family loves!