High-Carb: Better Moods than Low Carb

Researchers in Australia studying 106 overweight and obese adults put 55 of them on a very low-carb, high-fat diet, and 51 on a very low-fat, high-carb diet. After a year, weight loss in both groups was about the same (13.7 kg or 30.2 lbs). But, while both groups reported improved mood after the first 8 weeks, after that only the higher-carb group maintained their good mood; the low-carb group was more angry, depressed, and confused after a year on the Atkins-like diet. Researchers suggested a link to better serotonin synthesis with the higher-carb diet, or perhaps to “withdrawal symptoms” in Western-diet environment replete with breads and cereals.
Archives of Internal Medicine, November 2009; 169(20):1873-1880