Cutting carbohydrates can have the same advantages as fasting, the results of the study

Some people try restrictive food changes, such as intermittent fasting, to lose weight or improve their health. Fasting encourages the body to use fat rather than glucose, for energy.

According to a new study published in fasting similar to fasting European Nutrition Journal.

What the study has found

The small study included 12 participants aged 20 to 65 who had obesity or overweight. Participants followed three diets for one day each: a standard diet, a diet poor in carbohydrates and a low -carbohydrate and low -calorie diet.

The two low -carbohydrate plans have led to similar metabolic results: the participants’ body used fat and triglyceride levels. The results suggest that you don’t have to cut the calories to get these advantages.

“This could periodically mean cutting carbohydrates as a means of” metabolic fasting “could be more sustainable and enjoy more than those who wish to lose weight,” said Adam Collins, PHD, co-author of the study and Associate Professor of Nutrition at the University of Surrey in England, told Testwell in an email.

What happens when you cut the carbohydrates?

As a rule, the body breaks down carbohydrates into energy glucose. When we overweight carbohydrates, part of the excess is stored as fat. If we do not eat enough carbohydrates, the body turns into fat stored for energy. This process can promote weight loss or better control over blood sugar and insulin levels.

“The warning is that, by design, our low -carbohydrate day was rich in fat to correspond to the calories. Therefore, you can burn more fat than you eat rather than fat inside you. Nevertheless, we have shown a comparable improvement in fatty clearance and fat combustion thanks to the restriction of carbohydrates,” said Collins.

How many carbohydrates should you target?

In the study, people following low -carbohydrate regimes limited their carbohydrate intake to 50 grams per day for two days. Food directives suggest that someone who follows a diet of 2,000 calories should eat 130 g of carbohydrates each day.

“The restriction of the carbohydrate contribution to 50 g per day is quite low and can induce a state of ketosis, where the body uses energy for energy instead of carbohydrates,” said Albert Abayev, RD, a clinical dietitian recorded in the Cenars-Sinai Center for Weight Management and Metabolic Health, told very well in an e-mail.

The restriction of carbohydrates at 50 g or less per day could lead to nutrient deficiencies, and it is difficult to maintain this type of diet, added Abayev.

Should you cut carbohydrates once a week?

Although the carbohydrate cutting once or twice a week seems a more manageable approach than reducing calorie intake, keep in mind that these results came from a short short study. Additional research is necessary to understand the long -term advantages of the periodic carbohydrate period.

“It is really difficult to say subjects that adhere to this one day, if these effects would be supported over the weeks if someone was doing this longer,” Joanne Bruno, MD, PHD, a endocrinologist and a deputy clinical professor in the Nyu Langone Health Department, told very well.

Although some regimes can help in the short term, it is best to find a diet with which you can stick to it for a long time. This generally means a diet that includes a variety of food groups and macronutrients by emphasizing whole, plant and unprocessed foods, added Bruno.

“Usually, this is something that most of us can adhere to the long term, because it incorporates many different cultural foods and many different foods that most of us eat on a daily basis,” she said.