Too many carbs vs. protein or fat might shorten life
Association between carbohydrate to protein or fat ratio and mortality: A prospective cohort study.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
High carb-to-protein ratios increased overall death risk but not heart death risk.
Most people assume high-carb diets harm the heart — but here, the heart risk only showed up when carbs replaced fat, not protein.
Practical Takeaways
Try to keep your daily carb-to-fat ratio below 7.1 — for example, if you eat 300g carbs, aim for at least 42g of fat.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
High carb-to-protein ratios increased overall death risk but not heart death risk.
Most people assume high-carb diets harm the heart — but here, the heart risk only showed up when carbs replaced fat, not protein.
Practical Takeaways
Try to keep your daily carb-to-fat ratio below 7.1 — for example, if you eat 300g carbs, aim for at least 42g of fat.
Publication
Journal
Clinical nutrition ESPEN
Year
2024
Authors
Gyu-Hyeon Son, Hye Sun Lee, Yu-Jin Kwon, Ji-Won Lee
Related Content
Claims (5)
The nutritional quality of dietary components exerts a greater influence on metabolic health outcomes than the relative proportions of macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats, proteins).
People who ate a lot more carbs than fat were a bit more likely to die from any cause, not just heart problems.
Eating a lot of carbs instead of protein didn’t seem to raise the risk of dying from heart problems in this group, even though it did raise the risk of dying from any cause.
People in Korea who ate way more carbs than fat were more likely to die from heart problems than those who ate more fat and fewer carbs.
People in Korea who ate a lot more carbs than protein were slightly more likely to die sooner than those who ate a more balanced amount.