Study Proves Low-Protein, High-Carb Diet Preserves Cognitive Function

Vivian Goldschmidt, MA Nutrition

Evidence-Based
5 min Read
low protein high carb brain food

A healthy brain is of the utmost importance as you get older. While, sadly, there is no cure for conditions like Alzheimer's and dementia, new research has identified ways to reduce their risk of occurring and delay their effects.

One of the most talked-about diets for preventing cognitive decline is a calorie-restricted diet. However, calorie-restriction damages bones, so it trades one devastating problem for another.

Today we'll look at a study that has identified a bone-healthy diet that is just as effective as calorie restriction for preserving cognitive function.

The Power Of A Low Protein, High Carbohydrate Diet

According to a study published in the journal Cell Reports, a low-protein, high-carbohydrate diet offers the same– and sometimes better– cognitive health benefits as caloric restriction.1

Researchers from the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney in Australia studied two groups of mice — one on a 20% calorie-restricted diet, and one on a low protein high carbohydrate diet. They compared the two groups' cognitive functioning using mazes and novel object recognition tests. Here is how study author Professor Le Couteur described the results:

“The hippocampus is usually the first part of the brain to deteriorate with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. However, the low-protein, high-carbohydrate diet appeared to promote hippocampus health and biology in the mice, on some measures to an even greater degree than those on the low-calorie diet.”1

This finding means that the healthier, more enjoyable, and less restrictive low-protein, high-carb diet is an equally beneficial option for maintaining bodily and cognitive health into old age.

Synopsis

A new study has found that low protein, high-carb diets provide the same (or better) cognitive health benefits as calorie-restricted diets. Previous research concluded that both diets offer cardiovascular and digestive benefits that extend longevity.

The Importance Of A pH-Balanced Diet For Bones

A low-protein, high-carb diet is consistent with the Osteoporosis Reversal Program's dietary guidelines, while a calorie-restricted diet is not.

Calorie-restricted diets make it nearly impossible to provide your bones with the nutrients they need to stay healthy. A two-year-long study of 218 adults in their 30s and 40s found that calorie restriction causes bone loss. The participants were divided into a group practicing 25% calorie restriction and a group that ate normally. The calorie-restricted group saw bone loss at all the measured points: lumbar spine, total hip, and femoral neck.2

Another study found conclusive evidence that participants who lost weight from a calorie-restricted diet also lost bone mineral density at common sites of fracture.3 The consistent loss of bone mass due to insufficient calorie intake likely coincides with a loss of bone quality. Both studies demonstrate the danger of calorie restriction.

You shouldn't be afraid of healthy carbs. In fact, to keep your bones strong and flexible, they must be part of your diet. Any pH-balanced diet will skew in favor of the healthy carbs in vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, and away from excessive consumption of animal products that raise your diet's protein content and cause acidosis.

In a study titled “The Effects Of Acid On Bone” researchers at the University of Rochester School of Medicine wrote:

“Initially metabolic acidosis stimulates physicochemical mineral dissolution and then cell-mediated bone resorption. Acidosis increases activity of the bone-resorbing cells, the osteoclasts, and decreases activity of the bone-forming cells, the osteoblasts.”4

Put more simply, when the body's pH-balance begins to grow too acidic and alkalizing bicarbonate reserves are depleted, it swiftly rectifies the imbalance by dissolving bones for their alkalizing minerals.

A study on chronic low-grade metabolic acidosis found that the condition occurs in normal adults eating modern-day diets.5 The severity of the acidosis varies depending on each person's dietary composition.

That's why a pH-balanced diet is a cornerstone of the Osteoporosis Reversal Program. To prevent acidosis and resultant bone-loss, a diet high in alkalizing foods (about 80%) and low in acidifying ones is key– and is the basis of the ORP's 80/20 pH-balanced diet.

The low-protein, high-carbohydrate diet which the studies above found improve cognitive function, heart health, digestive health, and longevity fits neatly into a pH-balanced diet.

Synopsis

A low-protein, high carbohydrate diet fits into the pH-balanced diet recommended by the Osteoporosis Reversal Program, while a calorie-restricted diet is in direct opposition to the nutritional needs of your body and your bones. Calorie-restriction can contribute to acidosis, which causes bone loss. But a pH-balanced diet will naturally include fewer proteins from acidifying animal products, and more healthy carbs from vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.

What This Means To You

The research cited above confirms the accuracy and efficacy of the Osteoporosis Reversal Program. Diet is a powerful tool for changing your body and improving your health.

Combined with bone-targeted exercise and simple lifestyle changes, you have everything you need to build healthy bones, maintain your cognitive acuity, and live the robust and active life you deserve.

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References

1 https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(18)31674-7?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2211124718316747%3Fshowall%3Dtrue

2 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26332798

3 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/769549

4 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10926173

5 https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-0-585-37973-9_3