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Staying Healthy
Could a low-carb diet help your heart?
- By Kelly Bilodeau, Former Executive Editor, Harvard Women's Health Watch
Cutting carbohydrate intake might improve some risk factors for cardiovascular disease, but more research is needed.
When many people think of a low-carb diet, they picture plates piled high with red meat, bacon, and butter. Low-carb diets, so often rich in saturated fat, have long been viewed as unhealthy for your heart. But a study published online Sept. 28, 2021, by The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that a bit more saturated fat might be okay, if the dietary mix is otherwise healthy.
The researchers determined that a carefully constructed low-carbohydrate eating plan appeared to reduce some risk factors for cardiovascular disease. This is despite the fact that 21% of the daily calories came from saturated fat, more than double the recommended daily amount.
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About the Author
Kelly Bilodeau, Former Executive Editor, Harvard Women's Health Watch
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A Guide to Healthy Eating: Strategies, tips, and recipes to help you make better food choices
Eat real food. That’s the essence of today’s nutrition message. Our knowledge of nutrition has come full circle, back to eating food that is as close as possible to the way nature made it. Based on a solid foundation of current nutrition science, Harvard’s Special Health Report A Guide to Healthy Eating: Strategies, tips, and recipes to help you make better food choices​ describes how to eat for optimum health.
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