Read on Twitter
1/ This is why I get so frustrated with the LC community and its talking heads. Declarative statements, lacking nuance, which amounts to pseudoscience (i.e., shreds of truth wrapped up in BS). Let's go through some of these claims... https://twitter.com/wideeyetv/status/1327416036627542020
2/ C1: Low-carb diet just work better.
Reality: Maybe for some individuals with a preference for LC (that whole adherence concept), but not when studied across populations.
Review:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1933287419302673
Ad-libitum:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1933287419302673
Meta-analysis of diets
Reality: Maybe for some individuals with a preference for LC (that whole adherence concept), but not when studied across populations.
Review:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1933287419302673
Ad-libitum:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1933287419302673
Meta-analysis of diets
3/ C2: "I can treat all the conditions I used to treat, with medications, just by changing the food."
Reality: Low carb can lead to WL and improvements in CV risk factors, but this effect is modest.
MA of RCTs for WL = minus 0.44-1 kg over long-term https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27059106/
Reality: Low carb can lead to WL and improvements in CV risk factors, but this effect is modest.
MA of RCTs for WL = minus 0.44-1 kg over long-term https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27059106/
4/ C2 continued:
And many risk factors for CV dz can and will improve with LC, VLKCD, or any weight loss intervention for that matter https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23651522/
And many risk factors for CV dz can and will improve with LC, VLKCD, or any weight loss intervention for that matter https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23651522/
5/ C2 continued:
In the best scenarios, we can expect modest WL (5-10%) results from dietary interventions, which produces modest improvements in CV risk:
5-10% WL => increased odds of 0.5%A1c, -5 mmHG SBP/DBP, +5 mg/dL HDL-c, -40 mg/dL trigs
In the best scenarios, we can expect modest WL (5-10%) results from dietary interventions, which produces modest improvements in CV risk:
5-10% WL => increased odds of 0.5%
A1c, -5 mmHG SBP/DBP, +5 mg/dL HDL-c, -40 mg/dL trigs
6/ Much larger losses in BW (>10%) are rarely achievable with diet alone. Behavioral treatments, medications, and even surgery are often needed in a multi-component approach to yield this type of effect.
I did a whole thread on this: https://twitter.com/MichaelAlbertMD/status/1313632904010842112?s=20
I did a whole thread on this: https://twitter.com/MichaelAlbertMD/status/1313632904010842112?s=20
7/ Lastly, the element that LC can treat ALL conditions that are normally treated with medications is an insane statement. I do not need to provide evidence for this. Some conditions that cannot be treated w diet: Cancer, infertility, MI, ESRD, etc.
8/ C3: "it [low-carb] is as big of a discovery as insulin or antibiotics...it clearly it."
Reality 1: No, it clearly is NOT. Banting's discovery of insulin is one of the greatest scientific feats of our time. Now, millions of individuals with type 1 diabetes can LIVE, not die.
Reality 1: No, it clearly is NOT. Banting's discovery of insulin is one of the greatest scientific feats of our time. Now, millions of individuals with type 1 diabetes can LIVE, not die.
9/ Reality 2: The number of lives saved (all-time) from antibiotics is estimated in the hundreds of millions. Or, 200,000 lives saved per yr in the US.
https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/8889467/Gottfried05.html?sequence=2
https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/8889467/Gottfried05.html?sequence=2
10/ Summary: LC diets are one tool to assist (not replace) in the tx of chronic dz, notably obesity. But as we know, adherence is the greatest predictor of WL and improvement in RFs ( https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15632335/ ). Most ppl will not respond to diet changes alone given the nature of OB.
11/ Summary cont: Making claims that are partially but not wholly true is the definition of pseudoscience. I do not know what I expect any more from the LC leaders, but the messaging continues to disappoint. #BeBetter [end]
