Interesting article on low-carb diet ... - Atrial Fibrillati...
Interesting article on low-carb diet and AF
That is very interesting. That particular survey needs to be taken with a little pinch of salt (!) as it is an observational study and the difference was only 18%. However it does add to other evidence that low carb diets are bad for you. The article also refers to another study, "Low carb diets shorten your life":
independent.co.uk/news/heal...
This found that animal-based low carbohydrate diets shorten life unless the carbs (e.g. sugar in drinks) are replaced by plant fibre. The key seems to be a diet with moderate carbohydrate that comes from whole grains or veg.
Firstly - What amused me was that the article is against an advertising background of kit-kat?! And no indication of how the study was sponsored.....mmmm.
Secondly - no links or notations to the original study - that I could see.
Thirdly - No definition of ‘carbs’. There are carbs in Broccoli and eggs but if you get most of your carbs from those types of sources rather than kit-kats - your general health is likely to be improved. You rarely see an overweight Icelander and BMI is important indicator of general health, especially heart disease.
Fourthly - what was the demographic of this study? Seems to be a US study so I would guess based on an American diet rather than say - Icelandic diet - which is high fat, high protein and rich in fermented foods which may well result in very different results.
Fifth - it is suggesting a link but is alarmist in tone and I always distrust that type of article.
A balanced diet with some saturated fats, some red meat, oily fish with lots of vegetables, whole grains, pulses and lentils and a small handful of fruit is what is recommended by BANT and as is stated on their web-site, nutritional needs vary from person to person. There is a very useful guides of proportions of what would be considered a balanced eating plan (hate the word diet as it suggests unbalanced eating) in easy to digest, diagrammatic form of Wellness Plate which highlights the recommended proportions we need for good nutrition.
bant.org.uk/about-nutrition...
See: acc.org/about-acc/press-rel...
for more detail and answers to most of the points you raised.
Thanks for posting that - my take away is exactly what I stated above.
Zhuang said that while the research shows an association, it cannot prove cause and effect. A randomized controlled trial would be needed to confirm the relationship between carbohydrate intake and AFib and assess the effect in a more ethnically diverse population. In addition, the study did not track participants with asymptomatic AFib or those who had AFib but were never admitted to a hospital, nor did it investigate different subtypes of AFib, so it is unknown whether patients were more likely to have occasional episodes of arrhythmia or persistent AFib. The study did not account for any changes in diet that participants may have experienced after completing the questionnaire.
Yes I read it too🤔 I do have experience of this kind of diet, as about twenty years ago it was suggested to me by my doctor, it was an all liquid diet, calories less than 500 per day, which it was explained would result in the Keto effective, which would subsequently result in rapid weight loss, which foolishly at the time was what I wanted!
Every week I was weighed & monitored at the local hospital, I lost four stone in as many months, my goodness was I miserable during that time!
Took me a year to put the weight back on
(What a surprise 😏),
& seven years ago I was diagnosed with AF...
Years after developing PAF, I managed to lose 3 stone on a ketogenic low carb diet. Since reaching my target weight I have found it fairly easy to keep my weight steady after reintroducing plenty of vegetables and low sugar fruits. For me, the key thing is absolutely no sugar.
Incidentally the Primal diet [Paleo+dairy ] is quite liberal on complex carbs from fruit and vegetables for maintenance of a heathy weight. I think you need to distinguish between diet meaning what you eat to lose weight, and diet meaning the foods you eat once you have achieved a healthy weight.
Agree with you - I hate the word diet - I now use eating plan because of the associations of diet meaning to restrict foods.
There is a new buzz word in eating psychology - orthorexia meaning eating only certain foods or excluding foods. It is being talked about as an eating disorder - certainly can be a precursor to eating disorders. We need to eat foods from every food group but we also need to have them in the right sort of proportions to stay healthy.
I only started losing weight when I drastically limited all white carbs - still have whole grains - & fasted for 12+ hours of every day. I feel & look so much better.
After losing substantial weight on a high animal protein diet, no sugar or refined carbs, over a few years, I stopped losing and began gaining again. Apparently there is a phenomenon called gluconeogenesis that causes the liver to produce glucose from protein in order to maintain sugar supply to the brain and other organs, which need glucose for fuel. I've determined it's probably better to focus on lots of green veggies and legumes, less meat, and almost no refined carbs. But at my age (69) losing weight is an incredible uphill struggle. I'm almost convinced old women are meant to be pudgy.
yes, Im weeks from 66 and it is a huge effort to drop wt but no effort to put it on
Ah yes. Part of the problem is that as we get older our muscle mass starts to diminish quite markedly. Muscles burn fuel and we develop an appetite to match, and being older we tend to buy more comfortable armchairs, cars and energy saving devices. I now try to live by the GOYA philosophy otherwise known as 'get off your ass' and try and restrain my appetite. It's a grand life as long as you don't weaken...
Ha, you are so right! GOYA, thats not the american philosophy here, sadly.
A lot of people confuse low carb with high protein (as in animal products). The ketogenic diet advises MODERATE animal proteins, too much of which will turn to fat. FAT should be primarily from plant and fish sources in my humble opinion, and eggs are an important source of nutrition but I eat more egg whites than whole eggs. Keep away from sausages, bacon etc that is, processed meats. Resistant starches are now recommended. That is potatoes, rice and pasta that has been cooked, cooled in the fridge and eaten either cold or re-heated, the latter raising the resistant starches 50%, No refined carbs at all.
Thanks for the link, the article refers to the 'pure' study published by the lancet. I am slowly coming to the conclusion that sugar is the root of all evil.
Interesting article
Diet and AF
AF AND DIET
