Low-fat plant-based diet vs. low-carbohydrate animal-based diet
According to information published January 21, 2021, people on a low-fat vegetable-based diet consumed fewer calories per day but had higher insulin and blood sugar levels compared to those on a low-carb meat-based diet.
The study, led by researchers at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), compared the effects of the two diets on calorie intake, hormone levels, and body weight.
The study.
20 adults without diabetes, and the intervention was conducted for four consecutive weeks.
The participants, 11 men and 9 women, received either a vegetable-based low-fat diet or an animal-based low-carbohydrate diet for two weeks, followed immediately by an alternative diet for two weeks.
The low-fat diet was high in carbohydrates, while the low-carb diet was high in fat.
Both diets were minimally processed, contained vegetables with the same amount of carbohydrates, and the experiment took place in an environment where the participants were given three meals and snacks a day and could eat as much as they wanted.
The results.
Those on the low-fat diet ate 550 to 700 fewer calories per day than those on the low-carb diet.However, despite the large difference in caloric intake, participants reported no difference in hunger, food enjoyment, or satiety between the two diets.
Participants lost weight on both diets, but only those on the low-fat diet led to a significant reduction in body fat.
Contents of the intervention diet
Plant-based low-fat diet
10.3% fat
75.2% carbohydrates
Animal-based low carbohydrate diet
10 percent carbohydrate
75.8% fat
The low-carb diet contained twice as many calories per gram of food as the low-fat diet, but both diets contained about 14% protein, matching the total calories presented to the subjects.
Low-fat diet menu
Baked potato, chickpeas, broccoli, and orange for dinner
Low Carbohydrate Meal Menu
Cauliflower rice and beef stir-fry for dinner
Hall KD, etal. Impact of a plant-based low-fat diet and an animal-based ketogenic diet therapy on free energy intake. Nature Medicine (link is external). January 21, 2021.
Summary
It's not that either of them was terribly dominant, but if you want to reduce body fat, switching to a low-fat diet might be similar to this result.
Due to the small sample size, we don't know how reproducible the results are, but in this day and age of overeating and ultra-processed foods, it may be preferable to stop consuming these foods as much as possible and structure them as described above.
