We’ve all heard that staying away from high-fat foods and red meat is the key to keeping your heart healthy, but that may not actually be true.
According to surprising new research published in the journal PLOS ONE, the secret to a healthy diet (for both your heart and waistline) is actually the exact opposite.
In the study, researchers found that limiting your carbohydrate intake is actually much healthier overall than reducing the high-fat products in your diet.
Even more mind-boggling, when the researchers took a closer look at 17 random studies of overweight individuals, they discovered that a high-fat, low-carb diet was 98 per cent more likely to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke than cutting out fatty foods in favor of carbs.
Aside from the heart-healthy benefits that come with a low-carb diet, the researchers also learned that participants who consumed less than 120 grams of carbohydrates each day were 99 per cent more likely to lose weight than those who focused solely on limiting their fat intake.
While the study’s researchers still don’t fully understand why the participants following a high-fat, low-carb diet were less likely to develop heart problems than those who gorged on carbs, they think it has a lot more to do with the lower intake of carbs than the higher consumption of fat.
As for the whole weight-loss benefit, study author Jonathan Sackner-Bernstein, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University, wasn’t too surprised by the results.
Because carbohydrates provide short-term energy, which causes the body’s insulin levels to spike, the tricky hormone essentially fools the body into thinking it needs to store extra fuel (a.k.a. fat) for later.
So, whether you’re trying to keep your heart healthy, or you just want to shed a few pounds, cutting down on carbs is always a smart move, according to Sackner-Bernstein.
