With keto diet trending on social media, some fans of low-carb-high-fat diet are hoping for approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the upcoming U.S. dietary guidelines, which advise Americans on dietary plans.
Experts opine that including low-carb diet could help shape government food programs such as school lunches. The current guidelines advise healthy eating by including the Mediterranean diet, vegetarian diet, among others.
Last year, health officials said low-carb diets would be reviewed with other eating habits for the 2020 guidelines update. Experts are quite hopeful because the panel selected to review low-carb evidence includes members that are nominated by Atkins Nutritionals as well as a beef industry group.
Low-carb diet followers said rising obesity rates in the U.S. show conventional wisdom about nutrition (reflected in the guidelines), does not work for everyone.
Some experts cautioned that evidence for a low-carb diet is new and that it is unclear about its long-term effects. They said criticism of the dietary guidelines has been overblown, and blamed the food industry for misrepresenting messages to sell low-fat snacks that are full of sugar and massive portions. The experts have also noted the guidelines have cautioned against the use of sugar since they were introduced in 1980.
Low-carb diet generally including limiting foods such as bread, pasta and sugar to less than 30 percent of calories.
The keto diet has been used to treat epilepsy and has resurfaced as a low-carb diet that is now embraced by numerous celebrities.
It has also been found that a low-carb diet can work well for type II diabetics who are sensitive to carbs.
Some experts say it could be tough to follow a low-carb diet, so people should make certain changes that can help them follow the diet regularly.
Nutrition researcher Marion Nestle, who helped write the 1995 dietary guidelines, said, “I prefer guidance that encourages healthy habits, such as the types of food to eat or limit. People don’t eat nutrients, they eat food.”
Adding a low-carb diet could further confuse messages. The guidelines of more than 120 pages advise people to limit saturated fats that are commonly found in butter and meat. Stanford University health policy researcher John Ioannidis said, “Instead of adding another diet to the mix, simplifying the guidelines would be more useful. If we eat more, that will make us obese. That’s 100% correct.”
