low carb and low fat diet

[Ruth]

I was directed here by another member when I posted my query in the fat loss section.

Can anyone tell me what, if any, the dangers are in a diet that is almost without carbs but is also very low fat? A friend of mine eats lots of veg, fruit and fish, avoids all fats, and I worry that he gets no carbs, having read somewhere that this can make the body turn to 'eating' its own organs in the search for fuel.

[ZDub212]

Originally Posted by Ruth

I was directed here by another member when I posted my query in the fat loss section.

Can anyone tell me what, if any, the dangers are in a diet that is almost without carbs but is also very low fat? A friend of mine eats lots of veg, fruit and fish, avoids all fats, and I worry that he gets no carbs, having read somewhere that this can make the body turn to 'eating' its own organs in the search for fuel.

Yes, eating nothing but protein is unhealthy. Google Rabbit Diet or google The Last Chance Diet to see all the problems with this.

[Ruth]

Thank you, Zachary, but I was looking for some specialised advice on this diet. I have not been able to convince my friend that his diet is unhealthy and need something to wave under his nose.

[Eileen]

If he is eating a lot of vegetables and fruit, chances are he's eating more carbs than you think. Fruit has a lot and so does the root and fruit veg like carrots and peas.

But low fat diets in general are a lot less healthy than people think, and any diet where protein is the main componant is dangerous.

Basically, your body will take whatever it gets most of and burn that for running energy. On keto, we eat lots of fat to make our bodies burn fat. If you eat a lot of protein, your body will burn protein for fuel, and when calories run short, because I assume he's eating below maintenance? the body looks for the next source of protein, the muscles.

In extreme cases, high protein, low calorie diets have caused heart failure, because the heart is a muscle.

[gfundaro]

From what I've been reading about the low fat/carb/cal way of eating, you can do it for a very limited time. It's used for the morbidly obese for weight loss; they take in low calories comprised mainly of protein. But they also recommend seeing a doctor before doing it because you can suffer from electrolyte imbalance.

[Ruth]

Thanks a lot, Eileen and GFundaro. This is useful info which I will pass on to my friend.