Low Carbohydrate Diets and Mental Health
Individual macronutrients have been studied in relation to mental health, but there is no information on the association between adherence to a low-carbohydrate diet and mental disorders. This study was conducted to investigate the association between adherence to a low-carbohydrate diet and the prevalence of mental disorders in Iranian adults.
The study.
3362 adult males and females in a cross-sectional study that used a validated semi-quantitative food intake frequency questionnaire to determine dietary intake.
A low-carbohydrate diet (LCD) score was calculated for each participant based on the percentage deciles of energy from key nutrients, and each participant's carbohydrate, protein, and fat intake scores were summed to achieve an overall LCD score ranging from 3 (highest carbohydrate intake, lowest fat and protein intake) to 30 (lowest carbohydrate intake, highest fat and protein intake). Anxiety, depression, and psychological distress were assessed by the validated Iranian version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the General Health Questionnaire-12.
Results.
The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and psychological distress was 28.0, 13.3, and 22.6%, respectively; no significant differences were observed in the distribution of depression, anxiety, and psychological distress across different quartiles of LCD scores.After controlling for potential confounders, there was no significant association between LCD score and the prevalence of depression.
Ebrahimpour-Koujan, S., Keshteli, A.H., Afshar, H. et al. Adherence to low carbohydrate diet and prevalence of psychological disorders in adults. Nutr. j 18, 87 (2019). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12937-019-0513-8
Summary
This study investigated the mental health of people on low-carbohydrate and carbohydrate-restricted diets, and the results of the study showed that there was no association with their prevalence. The reason for this study was that there was a study that showed that the intake of certain fats and proteins, as well as hypoglycemia caused by low carbohydrates, can lead to mental disorders.
However, the conclusions of this study make it seem that these associations are not causal at first, but that additional research is needed to investigate the psychological effects.Among other things, the study found that the diets of participants prone to mental disorders were low in fiber, EPA and DHA, vitamin B6, magnesium, fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products, and high in refined grains.
There is no evidence that carbohydrate restriction in itself is better than other diets, but the result of consuming too many refined grains is that we may be consuming more carbohydrates than we need.It has been reported that the daily carbohydrate intake of Japanese people is 320g, so please take this opportunity to review your daily intake.
