Dietary carbohydrates
Dietary carbohydrates has been studied in 9 papers since 1998: 1 trial and 2 observational studies in people, 3 in animals, 3 reviews; 1 in the past year. The newest paper, Dec 23, 2025: “Association between high carbohydrate to dietary fiber ratio and risk of dementia in older adults: analysis from the UK biobank”.
“Total carbohydrate intake was associated with dementia risk (HR per 1 SD = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.05–1.25, p = 0.001)”
- 4 independent labs in 4 countries
- Funders: Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea and others
- Human trial1
- Humans2
- Animals3
What did studies of Dietary carbohydrates find?
5Studies of Dietary carbohydrates measured 5 outcomes; the most studied are resting energy expenditure (1 study), glycemic control (1) and telomere length (1).
Resting energy expenditure
downin humans1
1 study
Resting energy expenditure
downin humans1
Dietary carbohydrates decrease resting energy expenditure in humans (-2.30 kcal/day (95% CI: -4.11 to -0.47, p = 0.013) per 1% increase).
“each 1% increase in CHO intake was associated with a reduction of 2.30 kcal/day in REE (95% CI: -4.11 to -0.47, p = 0.013).”
Reviewwithin participants who experienced moderate to high weight loss (>5%) under caloric deficit
Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity
Glycemic control
upin humans1
1 study
Glycemic control
upin humans1
Dietary carbohydrates improve glycemic control in humans.
“Recent evidence suggests that targeting skeletal muscle mechanisms via nutritional interventions around exercise, particularly with carbohydrate manipulation, can enhance the acute glycemic benefits of HIIT.”
Reviewaround exercise
Sports medicine and health science
Telomere length
upin mice1
1 study
Telomere length
upin mice1
Dietary carbohydrates increase telomere length in mice.
“There was a significant positive relationship between ATLR and carbohydrate intake”
Animalsliver
The Relationship Between Dietary Macronutrients and Hepatic Telomere Length in Aging Mice
The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences
Body composition
no changein rats1
1 study
Body composition
no changein rats1
Dietary carbohydrates have no effect on body composition in rats.
“The source of dietary carbohydrate did not have a significant effect on body composition, total cholesterol or the distribution of the cholesterol fractions.”
Animalsmales
Description of the long-term lipogenic effects of dietary carbohydrates in male Fischer 344 rats
The Journal of nutrition
Total cholesterol
no changein rats1
1 study
Total cholesterol
no changein rats1
Dietary carbohydrates have no effect on total cholesterol in rats.
“The source of dietary carbohydrate did not have a significant effect on body composition, total cholesterol or the distribution of the cholesterol fractions.”
Animalsmales
Description of the long-term lipogenic effects of dietary carbohydrates in male Fischer 344 rats
The Journal of nutrition
What is Dietary carbohydrates linked with?
1Studies link Dietary carbohydrates with 1 measure, most often dementia (1 study).
Dementia
upin humans1
1 study
Dementia
upin humans1
Dietary carbohydrates raise the risk of dementia in humans (HR per 1 SD = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.05–1.25).
“Total carbohydrate intake was associated with dementia risk (HR per 1 SD = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.05–1.25, p = 0.001)”
Humans11.8 years median follow-upn = 107,785
BMC neurology
Funding
2 grants since 2017National Health and Medical Research CouncilA$318.8kEuropean Commission€222.7k
European CommissionChalmers Tekniska Hogskola Aktiebolag€222.7k2025–2026
National Health and Medical Research CouncilUniversity of SydneyA$318.8k2017–2020