The popular low carbohydrate high protein diet may not be very good for your long-term health.

Researchers at the University of Texas tested the effect of a diet which was low in carbohydrate on ten healthy subjects. For two weeks they ate a normal diet, and then switched to one which had some vegetables, no fruits, and less than 20 grams of carbohydrate a day for two weeks. This low carb diet had a drastic effect on body chemistry, the researchers say.

Levels of citrate in the urine fell. Citrate is needed to protect against the formation of kidney stones. So the diet might increase the risk of kidney stones. Then acid excretion went up - which suggests that the acid load in the blood had increased, probably because of the acidic content of meat, which is a big component of this diet. This is likely to result in bone loss - so the diet could increase your risk of osteoporosis.

There's no doubt that any restricted diet can lead to short-term weight loss. But complex carbohydrates and fruits are essential for maintaining health - cutting them out long-term can only upset the body's balance. This in turn could lead to problems, like osteoporosis and kidney stones, as this study shows.

Source

American Journal of Kidney Diseases August 2002