Does eating low-carb make a difference for belly fat?
Eating low-carb probably helps with belly fat, but the effect depends strongly on how strictly you follow it and whether you are also eating fewer calories at the same time. If you specifically want to target belly fat, a meal time window or a combination of strategies appears more effective than reducing carbohydrates alone.
An extremely low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet combined with a substantial calorie deficit reduces belly fat considerably more than a standard low-calorie diet. In two randomised trials in people with obesity, the reduction in visceral fat after two months was two to three times greater: on average roughly 32 to 39 cm² less visceral fat, compared with approximately 12 to 13 cm² in the standard diet group. Liver fat also fell significantly more. One important caveat applies: this diet combines strict carbohydrate restriction with a much lower calorie intake at the same time. It is therefore not clear how much the carbohydrate restriction itself contributes.
A standard low-carbohydrate diet, without those extreme calorie restrictions, is less effective against belly fat. In a randomised trial in people with metabolic syndrome, body weight and subcutaneous fat did decrease with carbohydrate restriction, but visceral fat did not. Time-restricted eating (limiting food intake to an 8-hour window per day) proved more effective for belly fat, especially when combined with carbohydrate restriction.
For people with a fatty liver, the results are somewhat more favourable. A small randomised trial showed that a low-carbohydrate, high-fibre diet produced significant reductions in visceral fat, body weight and waist circumference after two months. The trial included 44 participants, so the findings are preliminary.
Studies that combine carbohydrate restriction with other changes, such as altered eating patterns or increased physical activity, do show weight loss and a smaller waist circumference, but it is then no longer possible to isolate what carbohydrate restriction itself contributed. An observational study at a Canadian clinic found an average of 9% weight loss after one year with a combination of carbohydrate restriction, intermittent fasting and exercise, but 62% of participants dropped out before the study ended.
This answer is based on several randomised trials, two observational studies and two studies that are not further indexed. The strongest findings come from randomised trials, but participant numbers are small (22 to 128 people) and study duration is short (six weeks to two months). In most studies it is not possible to separate the effect of carbohydrate restriction from the effect of calorie restriction. The researchers of the VLCKD studies reported a clear difference in visceral fat, but acknowledge that both the extreme calorie restriction and the carbohydrate restriction play a role. The evidence for a low-carbohydrate diet alone on belly fat, without other changes, is therefore thin.
Does a lithium deficiency increase the risk of dementia?
People in areas with higher lithium levels in drinking water develop dementia less often, but whether a deficiency actually causes dementia has not been proven. If you are concerned about your dementia risk, discuss it with your doctor rather than taking lithium on your own initiative.
How much lithium do you need each day?
There is no official daily recommendation for lithium; scientists cite 1 mg per day as a cautious guideline, but evidence for benefits in healthy people is largely absent, so supplementation is not yet substantiated.