According to the BBC, a recent study in The
Lancet Public Health found that diets
low in carbs and high in animal-based fats, like the Atkins or Keto
diet, could shorten life expectancy by up to four years.
The study was conducted over 25 years and
reviewed questionnaires filled out by 15,400 people from the U.S. on the food and
drink they consumed, along with portion sizes.
The scientists estimated the proportion of
calories people received from carbohydrates, fats, and protein. The researchers
concluded that those who got 50-55 percent of their energy from complex
carbohydrates had a lower risk of death compared to those who consumed low and
high levels of carbohydrates.
These findings were similar to past studies
that included more than 400,000 people from more than 20 countries.
Furthermore, the scientists found that replacing carbohydrates with more
plant-based proteins and fats, such as legumes and nuts, reduced the risk of
mortality.
Clinical and research fellow in cardiovascular
medicine from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston Dr. Sara Seidelmann said:
Low-carb diets that replace carbohydrates with protein or fat are gaining widespread popularity as a health and weight-loss strategy. However, our data suggests that animal-based low carbohydrate diets, which are prevalent in North America and Europe, might be associated with shorter overall life span and should be discouraged. Instead, if one chooses to follow a low carbohydrate diet, then exchanging carbohydrates for more plant-based fats and proteins might actually promote healthy ageing in the long term.
Countless studies prove that plant-based foods
are significantly healthier than animal products. Scientists have shown that a plant-based diet reduces one’s risk of cancer, heart
disease, diabetes, and obesity. In fact, a recent study from Harvard
Medical School found that at least one-third of early deaths could be prevented if
everyone switched to a plant-based diet.
What’s more, researchers at the Mayo Clinic
found that long-term vegetarians lived on average 3.6 years longer
than their meat-eating counterparts.
But eating vegan foods isn’t just great for
your health; it also protects the planet and spares farmed
animals a life of misery.
At factory farms, animals are subjected to
intense and horrific abuse: gruesome mutilations, cramped confinement and
overcrowding, and violent, bloody slaughter. If we treated just one dog or cat
the way the meat, dairy, and egg industries treat billions of animals, we’d be behind bars for animal abuse.