A critical evaluation of high protein-low carbohydrate diets

In recent years many new dietetics regimens have been proposed with the purpose of helping athletes to improve their performance. The elite athlete is, in fact, the individual that more easily accepts undergoing even the most extravagant of diets in the hopes of improving performance. Unfortunately, a complicating aspect of the field of nutrition is that regimens which could find valid application in very active individuals, such as professional athletes, are often also adopted by the general population. Sedentary or moderately active people who’s desire is not to improve an athletic performance, often follow these dietetic regimens simply to loose weight and/or to reach or maintain a good health status. In the vast spectrum of dietetic regimens followed both by sport enthusiasts and by the general population, high protein-low carbohydrate diets have the most followers. The scarcity of data addressing the health effects of these popular diets is an important public health concern, especially since sedentary people are interested in using them as individualized eating strategies. The aim of this mini-review is to provide a critical evaluation of these dietetic regimens both for highly active subjects (e.g., athletes) and for sedentary or moderately active subjects.