Australian Study Concludes A High-Fat, Low-Carb Diet Puts You In A Bad Mood — DANGIT!

Filed under: Study — @ December 8, 2009

Calvin has been reading up on the latest studies about low-carb diets

In Lesson #19 of my new book 21 Life Lessons From Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb, I state that “you can’t always trust or believe the negative studies on low-carb.” And today I have yet another prime example of this to share with you out of the research world that got big headlines when it released. Now that the weight loss and physical health benefits of livin’ la vida low-carb are undeniable, the attention is now being turned towards mental and emotional health. Ohhh, this is gonna be a fun one!

Dr. Grant D. Brinkworth says high-fat, low-carb diets make you moody

Lead researcher Dr. Grant D. Brinkworth, research scientist and project leader at Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) Food and Nutritional Sciences in Adelaide, South Australia, observed 106 overweight and obese adults with an average age of 50 and placed them on one of the following isocaloric diets for a period of one year (the ratio in parenthesis indicates the fat/protein/carbohydrate):

LOW-CALORIE, LOW-CARB, HIGH-FAT DIET (61/35/4) or
HIGH-CARB, LOW-FAT DIET (30/24/46)

Calories for both groups were restricted to between 1,433-1,672 daily and they both produced an average weight loss of 30.2 pounds at the end of the one-year study period. After eight weeks on their respective diets, each study participant showed improvements in their mood. However, according to Dr. Brinkworth and his fellow CSIRO researchers, the mood improvements in the high-fat, low-carb group regressed back to where they started prior to the study.

Click here for more details about this study and to find out why it is flawed based on both previous research as well as anecdotally in people who have been on a low-carb diet.