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# Low carb, high protein diets boost cardiovascular disease risk in women
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/low_carb_high_protein_diet_heart_disease_0626131123/
- Published: 2013-06-27T00:21:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T15:53:33.000Z
- Description: Among 43,000 Swedish women followed for 15 years, those eating the fewest carbohydrates and the most protein had a 62 percent higher incidence of cardiovascular disease, which researchers put at 4 to 5 extra cases per 10,000 women a year.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Diet, Nutrition, #vivvo-import

Wednesday June 26, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) -- Women who eat too little whole grain products and too much meat and or dairy protein have to face a higher risk for cardiovascular disease, a study published Tuesday in the British Medical Journal suggests.

The study shows the incidence of cardiovascular disease was 62 percent higher among women who ate the least carbohydrates and the most protein, which mostly came from meats/dairy products in the West, compared with those who did not eat the diet.

The study was based on data collected from 43,000 women aged between 30 and 49 years old in Sweden who completed a food frequency questionnaire to report their intakes of foods over a period of six months between 1991 and 1992\. During the 15-year follow-up after the survey, 1,270 women developed heart disease.

Researchers estimated that following a low carb, high protein diet increased the incidence by 4 to 5 cases out of 10,000 women each year. They also projected that eating just 20 fewer grams of carbohydrates and five more grams of protein per day would increase the long term risk for cardiovascular disease in women by 5%.

Atkins diet is a typical low carb, high protein (could be high fat too) diet. Early studies have already found that high intake of whole grain products (high carbohydrates) and low intake of protein, particularly animal protein, associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.

It should be noted that not all carbohydrates are beneficial. For instance, fructose, which is found in sucrose or cane or beet sugar and high fructose corn syrup, can actually increase the risk of cardiovascular disease because it can cause endothelial dysfunctions.

According to Dr. T Colin Campbell, a distinguished nutrition professor at Cornell University, no higher than 11% of total energy of a person's diet should come from protein if a person wants to reduce his risk of cardiovascular disease and other diseases such as cancer. On average, Americans eat more than 15%, and worse of all, most of the protein they eat comes from meats and dairy proteins, which have been associated with a range of diseases.

Low carb, high protein diet is not the only thing that food consumers need to avoid to reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease. Eating processed foods high in trans fat has been associated with 100,000 deaths from heart disease, according to Harvard epidemiologists and nutritionists. (reporting by Jimmy Downs)