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ShareMumbai: Losing weight but still depressed? Look at your diet chart and check whether you've eliminated all carbohydrates from it. Chances are, you have. Studies have shown that a low-carb diet is likely to give you the blues and rob you of the joys of 'slimming down'.
A recent Australian study, published in a medical journal titled Archives of Internal Medicine, says that compared to low-fat diets, very low-carb diets can cause depression, anxiety and mood swings.
For the uninitiated, a low-carb diet means a less intake of carbohydrates, and a high intake of protein and fat. This means eating plenty of meat, soy, salads, paneer, grilled fish and chicken, and avoiding rice, roti, sugar, white bread, refined flour, biscuits, as well minimal consumption of fruits.
Dietician and consultant nutritionist Hira Mahajan says that a low-carb diet is the latest trend, but advises against it. According to her, carbohydrates give the body a feeling of fullness. "By following a low-carbohydrate diet, one increases the intake of proteins as compared to carbohydrates, which is not ideal for the body," she says.
Dr Nupur Krishnan, clinical nutritionist and director of Biologics Nutrition Clinic, supports this view. "It is true that a low-carbohydrate diet may land one in depression. I have seen people suffering and I always suggest a diet which has a proper balance of all three: proteins, carbohydrates and fats," she says.
The diet should be customised according to the activity level of the person -- sedentary or very active. "If the body doesn't get all the nutrients in the proper ratio then it craves for food and that's when a person feels unhappy throughout the day," says Mahajan.
She says that substituting bad carbohydrates with good ones is the key to a proper diet. "For example, instead of refined flour (maida) one should opt for wheat and instead of rice one should eat roti," she says.
According to Krishnan, one should choose kolam rice over basmati rice, multigrain bread over white bread, beans and sprouts over potato and arbi. "Instead of full cream milk, one needs to have buttermilk or low cream curd," she says.
She warns that a low-carbohydrate diet can cause hypoglycaemia, a condition caused due to low sugar levels in the body. "If a person doesn't have a proper and balanced breakfast in the morning, then he/she feels lazy the whole day and also experiences fluctuation in moods," says Krishnan.
"A high protein but low-carbohydrate diet works, but only for a few days and is not advised for more than a couple of days," says Mahajan. All nutrients should be taken in proper quantities to ensure your diet doesn't turn into a disaster.
