REVIEW article
Front. Nutr., 29 February 2024
Sec. Nutrition and Metabolism
Volume 11 - 2024 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2024.1376098
This article is part of the Research Topic
Unveiling the Role of Carbohydrates in Cardiometabolic Health


Expert consensus on nutrition and lower-carbohydrate diets: An evidence- and equity-based approach to dietary guidance

Jeff S. Volek1* William S. Yancy Jr.2 Barbara A. Gower3 Stephen D. Phinney4 Joanne Slavin5 Andrew P. Koutnik6 Michelle Hurn7 Jovonni Spinner8 Mark Cucuzzella9 Frederick M. Hecht10
1Department of Human Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
2Department of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States
3Department of Nutrition Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United States
4Independent Researcher, Elk Grove, CA, United States
5Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, United States
6Sansum Diabetes Research Institute, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
7The Dietetian’s Dilemma, Portland, OR, United States
8Beacon Public Health, Riverland, MD, United States
9Department of Family Medicine, West Virginia University, Martinsburg, WV, United States
10Osher Center for Integrative Health, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States

There is a substantial body of clinical evidence supporting the beneficial effects of lower-carbohydrate dietary patterns on multiple established risk factors associated with insulin resistance and cardiovascular diseases in adult populations. Nutrition and health researchers, clinical practitioners, and stakeholders gathered for, “The Scientific Forum on Nutrition, Wellness, and Lower-Carbohydrate Diets: An Evidence- and Equity-Based Approach to Dietary Guidance” to discuss the evidence base around lower-carbohydrate diets, health outcomes, and dietary guidance. Consensus statements were agreed upon to identify current areas of scientific agreement and spotlight gaps in research, education, and practice to help define and prioritize future pathways. Given the evidence base and considering that most American adults are living with at least one nutrition-related chronic disease, there was consensus that including a lower-carbohydrate dietary pattern as one part of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans could help promote health equity among the general population.