Are people on a low-carb diet replacing starches and sugars with unhealthy high-fat foods? A new survey suggests they may do something radically different.

A recent study suggests that the major change in eating patterns for dieters on low-carbohydrate diets has been the addition of large amounts of vegetables and salads to replace carbohydrates removed from their diet.

Richard Feinman, PhD, principal author and a professor of biochemistry at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, notes that 54% of low-carb dieters increased salad greens and 34% increased green vegetables by “at least double their usual consumption” in response to removing starches and sugars from their diets.

 

Few of the 3,000 respondents reported that they had drastically increased consumption of such high-fat foods as beef, bacon, or butter, popularly portrayed as features of low-carbohydrate diets. This was especially true of the half of the respondents who had lost 30 lbs or more and kept the weight off for more than one year.

A doubling of consumption of chicken, however, a lower-fat food, was reported by 34% of the low-carb dieters.

Dr. Feinman observed that people on the low-carb forum followed diets that had no portion control beyond their own natural responses to carbohydrate restriction.

“Most people were happy with the diet and a section of narrative comments produced consistent responses of ‘have more energy,’” Dr. Feinman added. 

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