Low Carb Diet Can Lead to Depression

An extremely low carbohydrate diet, considered by some as a certain way of losing weight may not be so good for your mental health .
An Australian study published in Archives of Internal Medicine, a journal of America Medical Association, highlights how, compared to low fat diets that exceedingly low carbohydrate diets can cause depression, mood swings and anxiety in patients.
This study shows how an extremely low carbohydrate diet can remove the joys of weight loss .
The researchers from University of South Australia and Flinders and University Adelaide, Australia, studied 106 overweight and obese people who were placed on a low carbohydrate or a low fat diet for around a year, being allowed to eat only 1433-1672 kcal.
The researchers observed changes in body weight, wellbeing and psychological moods.
Both diets produced a similar reduction in body weight of around 14 kg. In contrast to the low carb diet, the low fat diet produced bigger improvements in psychological mood state. Both diets had similar effects on cognitive functioning, that is, speed of processing information and working memory.
“These findings suggest that although dietary macronutrient composition may have little influence on long-term weight loss, some aspects of the low carb diet may have detrimental effects on mood that may negate any positive mood effects following weight loss,” the researchers wrote.
Renowned clinical nutritionist and Director of health food chain in Delhi, Whole Foods, Ishi Kosla has said that carbohydrates are crucial for the brain and omitting them from foods completely can cause depression.
“Lot of neurotransmitters are carbohydrate dependant and taking carbs out of food can not only cause depression but also manifest in things like lack of stamina. Brain requires a minimum of 100 gm of carbs daily and some crash diets like atkins and others reduce carbs to less than 30 to 40 grams per day which has bad impact on the brain,” she said.