In a new study done on mouse, researchers found out that a diet rich in carbohydrates but low in proteins could also provide similar benefits as well. The lead research, Professor Stephen Simpson said that head to head comparison showed them that mice benefited in a similar way from a diet low in protein but rich in carbohydrates just like a caloric restriction diet of 40%. The study authors reported that a reduction in the calorie amount consumed by between 30 and 50% could increase the health span while also delaying the infection of diseases related to age while also improving the metabolic health considerably. The only unfortunate thing is that not many humans can be able to sustain that kind of caloric reduction.

Improving metabolic health

Other studies have additionally shown that when animals are able to access food with no restriction, reduction of calories through via dilution of diet didn’t showcase any improvement on the lifespan. During such circumstances, diets that are high in carbohydrates but low in protein improved  lifespan as well as leading an improved metabolic health later on in life. According to these findings, it is clear that a diet that is low in protein but rich in carbohydrates can be a very feasible dietary intervention for most humans rather than reductions of calories even though other previous researches have associated this diet with the risk of increasing intake of food.

In their efforts of investigating the most effective dietary intervention when it comes to improving metabolic health, three different diets were compared by the researchers with the ratio of protein to carbohydrates varying. This included high protein and low carbohydrates, medium protein and medium carbohydrates and low protein and high carbohydrates. Each of these diets was put to a test by the researchers twice for eight weeks. In one of the tests, there was restriction of the calories while the food was available freely in the other.

Taking protein moderately and more carbohydrates are very beneficial

The researchers found out that mice which followed a diet with low proteins and high carbohydrates where the food was available always had similar benefits to the ones following a diet in which there was restriction on the calories. The improvements that related to blood sugar, insulin levels were recorded even with an increase in the consumption of food. But increased food consumption in the scenario of freely available food showed that the mice had higher metabolism in comparison to the ones with a restricted diet. The researchers added that the next most important step was determining how specific amino acids, which are building blocks of proteins, tend to contribute to the overall lifespan and health span of a person.