Do Low-Carb Diets Make You Grumpy?

I have many risk factors for type 2 diabetes, and if I were my own client, I'd guess that a lower-carb diet would be more effective than a lower-fat diet. And yet, the reverse is true for me. When I tried the South Beach Diet with my husband, he lost weight rapidly and felt great while on the diet. Meanwhile, I was cranky and fatigued--and I didn't lose a single pound in a month!

So I was delighted to see this article heading in my e-mail this week:

Low-Fat Diet Makes People Less Angry Than Low-Carb, Study Says

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=aSalkJEXaHKk

The study found that people lost the same amount of weight on the low-carb and low-fat diets, but people on the low-carb diet were more likely to be angry, depressed, and confused. They weren't sure why, but observed that perhaps people were so acclimated to the carbs in a typical Western diet that they suffered withdrawls when they switched to the low-carb diet.

I think that's pretty unlikely, as the typical eating pattern has been carbohydrate-based for centuries (Native American and Native Alaskan diets being exceptions to the rule). And there's ample research to suggest the carbohydrate-based Mediterranean diet is a healthier (and perhaps, happier!) long-term alternative to lower-carb eating.

I probably shouldn't be so pleased by a study's results when the researchers fail to acknowledge that perhaps they saw these results because ketosis is a non-natural body state. The possibility that some people's bodies feel worse when they're in ketosis, or work harder to get out of ketosis, is a more logical reason low-carb diets make some people cranky than the possibility that they're addicted to carbs.

Nevertheless, the study backs up the perspective I share in my online class. Weight loss is about eating more healthfully, moving more, adequate hydration, getting enough rest, managing stress, etc. How you decide to eat more healthfully should be based on how you feel and how you fare when you change your diet's structure--not on the latest trendy diet.