The Hidden Dangers of Eating Low Carb
(or How to Starve Your Gut, Muck Up Your Hormones and Call It Healthy)
Ah, carbs. The scapegoat of the 21st century.
Once revered, now reviled. Banished from plates like sugar from a dentist’s picnic.
We used to break bread. Now we break into hives at the sight of it.
Welcome to the cult of low-carb living. Where bread is betrayal, pasta is poison and don’t even look at a potato unless you want your keto mates staging an intervention.
Yes, low-carb diets—Keto, Paleo, insert-trendy-name-here—are strutting their stuff through Instagram like the nutritional equivalent of that guy at the party who won't shut up about intermittent fasting. And sure, they can bring on quick wins. Drop a few kilos. Feel like a lean, mean, cauliflower-rice-fuelled machine.
But—and it’s a big but (not necessarily from the carbs)—cutting carbs comes with baggage. Not just the emotional kind you develop when you're dreaming about sourdough at 2am, but actual, evidence-backed, body-based consequences.
So before you burn your Weet-Bix in a backyard ceremony of nutritional purity, let’s take a moment. A pause. A hymn, if you will. To the overlooked, misunderstood carbohydrate.
And to the risks of living in the land of lettuce wraps and meat sweats.
1. Hormones: Not Just for Teenagers and Soap Operas
Your body—bless it—loves homeostasis. It likes balance. Rhythm. It’s not a fan of sudden drama.
So when you slash carbs, your insulin levels drop. Now, that’s the whole point, you’ll be told. Less insulin = less fat storage = abs, baby!
Except... insulin’s not just a fat villain. It’s also the hormone that keeps your blood sugar stable and helps regulate others, like leptin (that tells you you're full) and thyroid hormones (that keep you from feeling like a sloth in slow-mo). Drop carbs too low for too long and suddenly you're irritable, tired, maybe cold and wondering why you’re crying over a banana.
Women, in particular, are hormonal symphonies. Take out carbs and it’s like pulling the strings off a cello and expecting Mozart.
2. The Gut Stuff: Spoiler Alert—Bacteria Love Carbs
Here’s the unsexy truth: Your gut bacteria are hungry little critters. And their favourite snack? Fibre. Where does fibre live? In carbs. Whole grains, legumes, fruit, vegies—nature’s digestive royalty.
When you cut carbs, you're not just cutting calories. You’re cutting the fuel supply for the 38 trillion bacterial friends helping you digest food, fight off disease and keep you mentally sharp.
No carbs = no fibre = a sad, starving microbiome. Cue bloating, constipation, inflammation and maybe even a breakdown in your immune system. Fun!
Also, science alert: the gut-brain axis is a thing. So, your gut bacteria literally influence your mood. Low fibre? Low joy. High fibre? High-five.
3. Nutritional Deficiencies (a.k.a. the Hidden Price of Keto Flu)
You know what else lives in carbs? Vitamins. Minerals. The stuff your body actually needs to survive—not just function on bacon and vibes.
Cut out legumes, fruit, wholegrains and what do you lose? Magnesium, potassium, B vitamins and about half your will to live.
We’re not just talking about “feeling a bit off.” We’re talking cramps, brain fog, arrhythmias and tiredness that caffeine can’t fix.
But hey, at least you’ve got your bulletproof coffee and artisanal jerky, right?
4. Cardiovascular Health: Arteries Don’t Lie
Here’s the rub. Many low-carb enthusiasts replace carbs with saturated fat. Lots of it. Butter in coffee. Cheese with bacon. Meat with meat on top.
And yes, the research is mixed. Some studies say your cholesterol might stay stable. Others show it rises faster than Elon Musk's Twitter opinions.
But what’s consistent? Diets high in saturated fat and processed meat have a direct hotline to increased cardiovascular risk.
Also, diets over 40% fat (hello, Keto) have been linked to insulin resistance, chronic inflammation and changes in gut bacteria that can lead to more weight gain.
So while you may look trim now, your arteries might be plotting a dramatic finale.
5. Mental Health: Fog, Frowns and Food Fixation
You know what the brain loves? Glucose.
Not bacon fat. Not ketones. Glucose. As in, carbs. As in, the fuel your brain evolved to run on.
Cut carbs too low and you may notice:
Mood swings
Brain fog
Zero motivation
A strange obsession with toast
Not ideal if you're trying to function like a reasonably optimistic adult. If your diet makes you grumpy, tired and one croissant away from a public breakdown, it’s not a lifestyle. It’s a slow descent into madness.
6. Athletic Performance: Running on Empty
Sure, low-carb diets might be fine if your daily workout is a leisurely stroll to the couch.
But if you enjoy lifting, sprinting, dancing or doing anything that involves a bit of oomph, carbs are your best friend.
They refill glycogen stores, power your muscles and help with recovery.
No carbs = no gas in the tank. You’ll feel it. Your trainer will notice. Your PRs will suffer. Your gym shorts will weep.
So, What’s a Sensible Human To Do?
Look, if you must flirt with a low-carb plan (we all make questionable choices in times of nutritional crisis), at least don’t ghost carbs entirely.
1. Low Carb Doesn’t Mean NO Carb
You’re not a robot. You need glucose. Even Keto folks eventually reintroduce carbs or cycle them in.
Include slow-burning, low GI carbs like sweet potatoes, oats, lentils and barley.
2. Max Out on Fibre
Don’t just Google “low carb” and live off cheese. Add heaps of veg. Eat the rainbow—minus the Skittles. Think avocado, broccoli, linseeds, leafy greens. Your gut bugs will build you a statue.
3. Choose Smarter Fats
Stop with the butter-on-steak-on-bacon madness. Olive oil. Avocado. Salmon. Nuts. These are your heart’s version of a warm hug. Keep the saturated fats and processed meats to an occasional “why not,” not a daily feature.
4. Think Long-Term, Not Just Bikini-Season
You’re not just trying to fit into jeans. You’re building a relationship with food. So make it one that lasts longer than your last holiday romance with Atkins.
Instead of strict rules, try these:
Fill half your plate with veg.
Include protein and wholegrains.
Use olive oil. Eat fish. Repeat.
Sustainable, boring and beautifully effective.
In Praise of the Carbohydrate
Let’s end with a little ode.
Carbs. You fuel our brains.
You feed our microbes.
You make risotto worth living for.
You’re not the enemy. You’re an essential player in this biological circus we call life.
When eaten in balance—with fibre, with veg, with joy—you are the unsung hero of energy, mood, digestion and metabolism.
So maybe the enemy isn’t bread.
Maybe it’s extremism. Restriction. And that guy on TikTok who eats only beef liver and tells you fruit is poison.
The Final Word
Low-carb diets are a bit like that friend who seems super fun at first—gets you tipsy quickly, makes bold promises—but then ghosts you when you actually need support and leaves you bloated, cranky and wondering what the hell just happened.
So if you want to be healthy, energised and not sobbing into a lettuce leaf at 10pm, do yourself a favour:
Bring back the carbs. Eat the bloody banana.
Because real health isn’t about restriction. It’s about nourishment.
Not burning fuel faster, but fuelling smarter.
And that, my friends, is a delicious truth worth biting into.
References for us science geeks!
Insulin Resistance: A study published in Diabetes found that high-fat diets can lead to insulin resistance, particularly through the accumulation of saturated fatty acids, which can impair insulin signalling in muscle and liver tissues.
Boden, G. (2002). "Fuels and Insulin Resistance." Diabetes, 51(Supplement 1), S227-S230.
Increased Appetite: Research published in Obesity Reviews indicated that diets high in fat can increase appetite and caloric intake, potentially due to changes in gut hormones and metabolic pathways.
Avena, N. M., & Gold, M. S. (2011). "Dopamine and the Brain's Reward Pathway: Implications for Addiction and Obesity." Obesity Reviews, 12(5), e130-e139.
Inflammation: A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that high-fat diets can promote systemic inflammation, which is linked to obesity and metabolic disorders.
Kahn, S. E., et al. (2006). "Obesity, Insulin Resistance, and the Metabolic Syndrome." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 83(4), 706S-712S.
Changes in Gut Bacteria: Research published in Nature indicated that a high-fat diet can alter gut microbiota composition, contributing to obesity and metabolic disturbances.
Turnbaugh, P. J., et al. (2008). "An Obesity-Associated Gut Microbiome with Increased Capacity for Energy Harvest." Nature, 444(7122), 1027-1031.