Low-Carb Diets Could Make You Grumpier

Low-carbohydrate diets like Atkins and South Beach may work wonders for certain individuals (and not so well for others), but new research shows that these kinds of diets could be making you grumpier. The findings, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, point to the effects restricting carbohydrates has on the body’s serotonin levels.

Australian researchers at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization in Adelaide observed 106 overweight and obese participants between the ages of 24 and 64. For one year, participants were randomly put on either a low-fat or low-carbohydrate diet.

Although the mood of all the participants improved during the first 8 weeks (attributed to their early weight-loss), researchers found at the end of the trial that those in the low-fat group maintained their over-all positive mood while the low-carbohydrate group’s disposition returned to the more “negative” baseline.

Because carbohydrates increase the synthesis of serotonin (a neurotransmitter that regulates mood), researchers are using this as a possible reason for the outcome of their study.

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