A strict low-carbohydrate diet had no effect on bone loss for adults following an Atkins-type diet for weight loss, a three-month study by rheumatologists at the University of South Florida found. The clinical study was published this week in the online issue of the journal Osteoporosis International.

Low carbohydrate diets have become popular as a weight loss technique; however, critics contend such diets may have harmful side effects. One concern has been that low carbohydrate diets, which replace calories from carbohydrates with more consumption of high-protein foods like meat and eggs, alter the body’s acid balance.

 

This imbalance could lead to increased bone turnover (more rapid depletion than formation of bone) increasing the risk for osteoporosis.

“That’s not what our study found,” said lead author John D. Carter, assistant professor in the Division of Rheumatology, USF College of Medicine. “Patients on the low carbohydrate diet did lose weight, but the diet did not appear to compromise bone integrity or lead to bone loss.”

Earlier animal studies suggested that low carbohydrate, high protein diets could adversely affect bone quality.

“I was surprised by the results,” Dr. Carter said. “People on low carbohydrate diets absorb less calcium through the gut and excrete more calcium in the urine, so you’d expect they would be leaching their bones.”

Dr. Carter emphasized he does not advocate strict low-carbohydrates for long-term weight management. Such diets may adversely overload the kidneys with protein and lead dieters to consume more artery-clogging saturated fats and cholesterol, he said. 

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