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Many people avoid eating carbs. The reasoning? “They make you fat.” Thanks to Atkins and other fad diets, you may be tempted to skip carbs as part of your weight-loss plan. Of course, if eaten in unnecessarily large quantities, carbohydrates could contribute to weight gain, but, then again, so could too much of any food. In fact, carbohydrates are a healthy addition to your diet. Here are six reasons to keep carbs in your diet.
1. Carbs can help boost your mood.
Researchers suspect that carbs promote the production of serotonin, a feel-good brain chemical. In a study from the Archives of Internal Medicine, people who followed a very low carbohydrate diet for a year—which allowed only 20 to 40 grams of carbs daily, about the amount in just 1⁄2 cup of rice plus one piece of bread—experienced more depression, anxiety, and anger than those assigned to a low-fat, high-carb diet that focused on low-fat dairy, whole grains, fruit, and beans.
2. Carbs can help prevent weight gain—and even promote weight loss.
Researchers at Brigham Young University in Utah followed the eating habits of middle-aged women for nearly two years and found that those who increased their fiber intake generally lost weight. Women who decreased the fiber in their diets gained. Many carbohydrates contain dietary fiber, which is actually an indigestible complex carbohydrate.
3. Carbs are good for your heart.
Research suggests that increasing your soluble-fiber intake (a type of fiber found in carb-rich foods like oatmeal and beans) by 5 to 10 grams each day could result in a 5 percent drop in “bad” LDL cholesterol. Similarly, people who eat more whole grains (think brown rice, bulgur, quinoa) also tend to have lower LDL cholesterol and higher “good” HDL cholesterol.
4. Carbs will help you trim your waistline.
Swapping refined grains for whole grains may help reduce total body fat and belly fat, according to new research in the Journal of Nutrition. In the study, adults who ate about three servings of whole grains a day had about 2.4 percent less body fat and 3.6 percent less abdominal fat than those who ate less than a quarter of a serving.
5. Carbs will keep your memory sharp.
After overweight women followed a “low-carbohydrate” diet for a week (they were told to completely eliminate carbohydrates from their diets) they did worse on tests of working memory (i.e., why did I walk into this room?) and visuospatial memory (remembering locations on a map) than their counterparts who followed a “low-calorie” diet, based on American Dietetic Association guidelines, in a study from Tufts University.
6. Carbs will help you blast fat.
Eating a breakfast made with “slow-release” carbohydrates, such as oatmeal or bran cereal, three hours before exercise may help burn more fat, according to a recent study from the Journal of Nutrition. Here’s why: In the study, eating “slow-release” carbohydrates didn’t spike blood sugar as high as eating refined carbohydrates, such as white toast. In turn, insulin levels didn’t spike as high and because insulin plays a role in signaling your body to store fat, having lower levels may help you burn fat.
Articles © 2004-2011 Eating Well, Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
This post’s title is misleading. Most of the points made cite fiber as being beneficiary. To follow a low-carb or lower-carb diet, you still need to ingest adequate fiber, through green veggies or supplements. Eating whole grains is only better than regular grains because of fiber (and perhaps trace nutrients). Some foods like oatmeal are “slow release” because they contain fiber, not because of the other kinds of carbs.
This strikes me as a very dishonest article. Item 1 is the only one that actually compares eating a low-carbohydrate diet to one with some carbohydrates. Items 2, 3, 4, and 6 all concern swapping unhealthy carbohydrates for healthier ones. They are irrelevant to low-carb diets. Item 5 is based on women who were in the very early stages of adjusting to a low-carb diet, which we know takes a few weeks to adjust to — it’s like saying that if you experience jitters and irritability a week after you give up smoking, then clearly cigarettes are good for you after all!
Also, although fiber is a carbohydrate according to US nutrition labels, it does not act like one nutritionally and no popular low-carb diet encourages restricting fiber. Both soluble and insoluble fiber are available from green vegetables and nuts, which low-carb diets highly encourage.
You said just about everything that was on my mind.
This is a misleading article (especially the title), which skews my perception on the credibility of other literature on this site.
I believe the carbs you speak of in your article are all fiber. Maybe better titled keeping fiber in your diet. Other types of carbs ie: sugar, can be discarded.
These reasons are not convincing whatsoever. Ms Wright MS/RD should consider taking this article down so it can be rewritten in a non-misleading way. This is a really irresponsible and unprofessional article.
Hi Patricia, inhumandecency, Ed, and Alex,
We appreciate your constructive criticisms and your taking the time to comment on Ms. Wright’s article. With respect, we stand by the author’s assertion that complex carbohydrates, whole grains, and a diet with adequate fiber is healthy for most people. Of course, the One Medical blog doesn’t provide medical advice for individuals, so as always, we encourage readers with specific concerns to speak with their health care providers directly.
All best,
Nikki Jong
One Medical Blog Editor
Ok fine. This isn’t medical advice and we should speak with our doctor before making any dietary changes. We have all heard this before.
Unfortunately this doesn’t make any of these arguments more cogent. It also does not absolve you of responsibility for posting a truly misleading article (one you are most likely spending a lot of money promoting on twitter- how I arrived here).
I urge you, editor, to reread convincing reason #6 (or any other “convincing reasons” for that matter), and see if you can make any sense of that rationale whatsoever. “Carbs will help you blast fat because slow-release carbs don’t spike your blood sugar like refined carbs.”
i’m sorry, but you “stand by” this authors assertion? That carbs will help you blast fat because some carbs are better than other carbs when it comes to insulin signalling?
Furthermore, if we follow this idea that “insulin plays a role in signaling your body to store fat, having lower levels may help you burn fat” (which is one of the few things in this article to be both true and fairly stated), we could then come to the conclusion that cutting down on carbs in general will make us LESS FAT. After all, carbs have the highest impact on insulin of any macronutrient. Any yes, this includes “whole grains” (please see glycemic loads for the whole grain of your choosing).
The other “convincing reasons” blatantly confuse the reader by interchanging “fiber” and “carbs.” YES, technically fiber is carbohydrate, but the article exploits this for the purpose of promoting the consumption of whole grains. Fiber does not exist exclusively in whole grains. You can get massive amounts of fiber, both soluble and insoluble, from eating fruits and vegetables- foods the author does not mention. Not once.
I can only guess as to why this author chose to promote the consumption of carbohydrate via whole grains. She is entitled to hold this viewpoint. Unfortunately, I think most people demand more sound reasoning and objective justification in support of said viewpoint, particularity from a published article on a medical website blog written by an MS/RD professional (all liabilities aside, of course).
We sincerely apologize for any misunderstandings that have arisen from this post. A few points might prove helpful in clearing up any confusion:
The healthiest diet is one that’s low in simple carbohydrates, low in fat, and high in health-promoting carbohydrates found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and certain fish and soy products. As a medical group, we’re aware that science evolves and interpretations vary, but for now it appears that eating this type of diet is the best way to lose weight (and keep it off) while at the same time maintaining a healthy body. And it’s good for the planet!
We greatly enjoy the give-and-take of this sort of involved dialogue. We will continue to invite opinions that differ from ours, and we’ll be the first to admit when we are unclear or flat-out wrong. Thank you for your comments, and I hope you will continue reading with a conscientious and rigorous eye.
Malcolm Thaler, MD
Clinical Editor
One Medical Group
OK lets get this straight. There is good and bad cherestolol. The bad one (small, dense and gets under cells and clogs your arteries) comes mainly from carbohydrates. The good one (large, light, doesn’t stick to your arterial walls and floats around in your blood doing endless vital healthy things) comes mainly from fats. When you get your cherestolol tested they often just lump these two together . So, your cherestolol can be high, if its the right type, thats good! If not, thats bad! x
the following excerpt from an article on the NPR website appears relevant to this discussion
“But Ludwig and colleagues recently published a study in theJournal of the American Medical Association that offers some tools you might use to fight back. Researchers compared the low-carb, low-fat and low-glycemic diets to see which one burned the most calories per day. The low-carb diet was the clear winner. The low-fat diet was the loser. But it was the diet in the middle, the low-glycemic index diet, that Ludwig suggests is more promising. It burned more calories per day than the low-fat diet and proved easier to stick to over the long term than the low-carb diet.”
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/09/10/160757730/low-and-slow-may-be-the-way-to-go-when-it-comes-to-dieting
Low carb craze has turned carbohydrates into a bad word. Why are people healthier and live longer where they eat a grain centered diet? Who is dying in droves of heart disease? People who eat the most meat and dairy in the world have the highest rates. Unfortunately, you have to give up something to lose weight. Both will work in the short term. Atkins is dead. Dr. McDougall is alive.