How trendy low-carb diets disrupt your tummy
LOW-CARB diets are fuelling a rise in stomach problems among younger people, nutrition experts have warned.
Carbohydrates have fallen out of fashion among millennials and this is reducing the amount of fibre they eat.
According to the HSE, fibre is vital for stomach health and is linked to lowering the risk of bowel cancer.
Research in the UK has found more than two thirds (67%) of millennials – those born from the early eighties to the late 1990s – have experienced stomach problems such as bloating, diarrhoea and constipation within the last year, compared with 33% of adults of all ages.
More than half of millennials (55%) with problems said they had symptoms at least once a week and three quarters of younger people with stomach problems said that it had a negative impact on their mood and emotional wellbeing.
The UK’s Happy Gut Survey of 2,000 adults, commissioned by breakfast cereal maker Kellogg’s, found that while 55% of people believed they met the recommended daily fibre intake, in fact just eight per cent were eating the recommended level of 30g per day.
Dietician Jo Travers, author of The Low Fad Diet, said: ‘The trend towards diets that restrict carbs, such as the millennial-favourite keto regime [high fats, low carbs], also means considerably restricting fibre intake. This is not only highly concerning for the increased risk of coronary diseases but also for the gut which needs dietary fibre to nourish its good bacteria.
‘With emerging bodies of research showing the impact the gut has on our overall health and emotional wellbeing, looking after it with nourishing fibre-rich foods is extremely important and carb-cutting is therefore ill-advised.’
Earlier research by the International Food Information Council Foundation reveals that around one in six of those aged 18 to 34 are on a low-carb diet. Another study by Insider magazine says a third of millennials say they want to be on one.
Last month, a report for the WHO found eating fibre in ‘good’ carbohydrates such as wholegrain bread, cereals and pasta, helped reduce the risk of heart disease and early death.
The HSE’s fibre recommendations include having a high fibre cereal for breakfast, and trying to use 100% wholemeal bread. Also, choose at least two vegetables each day and try to eat peas and beans regularly.
But researchers warned it would be difficult to ensure people were eating enough of these foods because of ‘popular diets’ including the keto, Atkins and paleo diets, which all recommend cutting carbohydrates. Around a quarter of all consumers believe eating carbs is linked to weight gain, according to the IFIC.
Matt Perkins, nutritionist at Kellogg’s, said: ‘The most common issues with a diet lacking in fibre are the least glamorous. Symptoms such as sluggish bowels, runny stools... can mean you’re not getting enough – making you feel lethargic and miserable.’
‘Lethargic and miserable’