Weight Loss
Do Low-Carb Diets Cause Depression?
Quite a lot of research has compared the results of a low carb diet with a high carb diet on weight loss. But until now, no one has investigated the impact of low carb diets on mood and cognition. Since there’s been a persistent myth about low carb diets making people depressed and foggy-brained, this is a great area of investigation.
A study was just published in the September issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Researchers from Australia decided to investigate diet and mood. They put 93 overweight or obese men and women on one of two diets: high carb, low fat or low carb, high fat. The diets ranged from 1400-1700 calories a day, about 30 percent less than what the participants were used to. The study lasted eight weeks.
At the beginning of the study and for every two weeks afterward they were weighed and tested on three different standardized assessments of mood. They were also tested on memory and how quickly they could perform simple mental tasks.
Here’s what the researchers found. Not surprisingly, the low carb group lost significantly more weight. But everyone in both diet groups improved in mood. And there was no significant differences seen between the two groups. Memory was also the same in both groups. And both groups improved in mental tasking (though the low carb group improved slightly less).
So do low carb diets make people depressed? Any diet can affect mood in some people more than others. The exact outcome will depend on a host of circumstances way too complex and intertwined to reduce to a single simplistic statement. That said, the current study gives the lie to the myth that low carb diets cause bad moods. The low carb group improved in mood and overall well-being — and lost more weight on top of it!
[Ed. note: Dr. Bowden is a nationally known expert on weight loss, nutrition and health. He's a board certified nutrition specialist with a Master's degree in psychology. Dr. Bowden is also a life coach, motivational speaker, former personal trainer and author of the award-winning book, Living the Low Carb Life. For more information, click here.]
Rate this article by clicking on the stars below.
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
Tags: low carb diet, mood disorders, Weight Loss
Leave us a comment