Many follow this diet - and thus risk a fatal heart disease

2020-02-21T12:00:02.406Z

Summer is approaching and you want to lose a few pounds? Many are now adopting a tried-and-tested diet - which, according to a new study, can do immense damage.

Simply omit the carbohydrates and you lose weight - according to the well-known diet tip. But it has it all: Researchers came to a terrifying result when they examined the consequences of low-carb diets on heart health.

Ketogenic diet provides few carbohydrates: why it is so dangerous

Low-carb diets plan to eat little to no carbohydrates. The ketogenic diet is the most extreme: With this diet, carbohydrates are completely omitted. Instead, vegetables, dairy products, fish and meat are served - carbohydrates are replaced by fats and proteins, so to speak.

An international team of researchers led by Nicole Napoli from the American College of Cardiology, who is involved in the development and treatment of heart diseases, has now researched the effects of this. Using the health data of 14,000 people, the scientists determined that a low-carb diet is associated with a very high risk of cardiac arrhythmia , as reported by the health portal Heilpraxisnet.

Those study participants who covered a large part of their daily calorie needs with carbohydrates from cereals, fruits and starchy vegetables such as potatoes were noticeably less affected by atrial fibrillation .

Read also : Strengthen the heart with these ten hypotensive foods .

Cardiovascular survey

Ideal for the heart: around 45 to 52 percent carbohydrates a day

For their study, the researchers analyzed extensive information from the study participants about their eating habits - and that over a period of 22 years. The subjects were divided into three groups: low carb, medium carb and high carb . "Low carbohydrate diets were associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation regardless of the type of protein or fat used to replace the carbohydrates," said Dr. Xiaodong Zhuang, one of the study authors.

The low-carb group was 18 percent more likely to develop atrial fibrillation than people with a moderate carbohydrate intake. The latter covered 44.8 to 52.4 percent of their daily calorie needs with carbohydrates . Everyone who ate more ended up in the high-carb group: The low-carb group also had a 16 percent higher risk of atrial fibrillation compared to this group.

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The researchers suspect one reason for this is that low-carb promotes inflammation in the body because less anti-inflammatory foods such as grains, fruits and vegetables are eaten. Anti-inflammatory nutrition and its positive effects on heart health are increasingly becoming the focus of scientists.

To the study

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