All Carbs Aren't Bad

Have we missed something? One nutritionist thinks so. Not all carbs are bad, he said. True, some are -- the high-calorie, sugar-laden ones such as cookies, candy and cakes. That’s why they’re called junk food. Many others aren’t, and some are essential to good health.

“Because of the popularity of the Atkins diet and other factors, people have really begun thinking that carbohydrates are bad,” said Dr. Robert Keith, Alabama Cooperative Extension System nutritionist and Auburn University professor of nutrition and food science. “But carbohydrates are a natural food source. They’re something that the body --- the brain especially --- needs as an energy source.”

The brain, in fact, uses only carbohydrates as a food source, he said.

One factor contributing to the carb conundrum, Keith said, is the flood of dietary information pouring out of newspapers and computer and TV screens virtually on a daily basis. Case in point: a study recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing that Americans are consuming more calories than ever and are growing obese as a result. Carbs were fingered as one of the culprits.

The problem, Keith said, is that many consumers are apt to read the worst into these findings. He said the important thing to remember is that carbs were not identified as the sole culprit, just one of the culprits.

“The gist of the CDC’s argument is that people are consuming more calories a day, and this is probably the reason why they’re becoming obese,” Keith said. “And it’s true that some of the most readily accessible foods often turn out to be carbohydrate food. But it’s not the carbs per se that are causing the problem. The problem is that you’re getting too many calories regardless of where they’re coming from.”

Instead of throwing out the proverbial baby with the bathwater, Keith recommends keeping the carbs. Just make sure they’re the right ones --- beans, whole wheat bread, whole fruits and vegetables.

“They’re good for you, unlike the so-called bad carbohydrates,” Keith said. “They’re less calorically dense, which is good, and they’re also full of fiber and water, which is also good. You would have to eat a heck of a lot them to get the same amount of calories you would from junk food carbs made up almost entirely of sugar.”

Besides, Keith said, no long-term diet devoid of these healthy foods will do you much good anyway.

“True, as long as calories are down, you can lose weight, regardless of whether you’re following a high-carb or low-carb diet,” Keith said. “But the big issue is what you choose to eat for the rest of your life. And when you factor in this big issue, carbs are very essential. Yes, you need to stay away from carbohydrates that are high in calories. But as for healthy carbs --- fruits, vegetables and beans --- you need to make every effort to include them in your diet.”

Eating carbs has been a major flashpoint in the ongoing debate about diet and healthy living.

Physicians who support the low-carb Atkins diet are even lobbying federal policymakers to alter the USDA’s food guide pyramid to emphasize low-carb fare. They have proposed an altered design in which fats, especially heart healthy ones such as olive oils, would comprise the heavily favored base of the pyramid, while some breads and refined starches would be squeezed farther into the top with less desirable red meat.

For his part, Keith doesn’t foresee such large, wholesale changes, though he does expect the pyramid will be tweaked some to emphasize more whole grains and beans while de-emphasizing white bread, flour and processed carbohydrates.

[Source: Dr. Robert Keith, Alabama Cooperative Extension System Nutritionist and Auburn University Professor of Nutrition and Food Science, (334) 844-3273; Writer: Jim Langcuster, Extension News and Public Affairs Specialist, (334) 844-5686.]

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