C is for Carb Confusion

Simple, Practical, Science-Based Tips for a Long Healthy Life from Experts in Nutrition and Exercise Science

Post written by Dr. Bob Murray

Carbs are good for us.  No, carbs are bad for us.  We need carbs for energy … but carbs are fattening.  We should limit carbs in our diets.  Wait, carbs are what most athletes eat a lot of.  Some carbs are good for us.  Some carbs are bad for us.  Sugars are bad carbs … yet sugar is exactly what our bodies use for energy.  Carbs make us hungry.  Carbs make us feel sluggish … but athletes consume carbs when they need energy.  Carbs cause bloating.  Only breads, pastas, and cereals contain carbs.  Stay away from white carbs.  Carbs cause diabetes.  The only good carbs are complex carbs.  Carbs are addictive.

Confused yet?  When it comes to separating carb fact from carb fiction, most people are understandably confused.  We are regularly exposed to all sorts of erroneous information on virtually all aspects of nutrition and carb myths seem to be front and center.  This short blog cannot tackle all of those myths, so suffice to say that carbs are an essential part of a healthy diet and that the majority of those carbs should come from whole foods that also contain fibers, a form of indigestible carbs that are important for gut health and therefore for whole-body health.

Let’s focus on one simple question: what’s the ideal amount of carbohydrate we should eat?  Well, simple questions often have complex answers and that is certainly true with this question.  Athletes are advised to eat high-carbohydrate diets because they need a lot of carbs to replace what their muscles use during training.  If you are not training for two hours or more each day, you do not need all those carbs.  So, what is the ideal amount of carbs for most of us?

One study suggests that the ideal amount is 50% of daily calorie intake.  In other words, if you eat a 2,000 kcal diet, 1,000 of those calories should come from carbohydrates.  Why 50%.  The study looked at tens of thousands of adults over decades and concluded that the lowest overall mortality from all causes was associated with diets that contained roughly 50% of calories from carbohydrates.  Mortality risk went up when carb content fell below 40% or above 70%.  Eating lots of plant-based carbs also reduced the risk of early death.

As with all studies, this one comes with strengths and weaknesses.  One strength is that the results emphasize the importance of not eating too few or too many carbs.  One weakness is that study is only a far-removed observation of many thousands of people living and eating in many thousands of different ways, so the results only suggest—and do not prove—that the sweet spot for carb intake lies somewhere around 50% of daily calories.  Happily, even without trying, most of us usually consume diets that contain about half of the calories from carbs.

Another recent study found that some carbs come with an added bonus….nutrients that in short supply in the diets of many older adults. Grain foods contribute not only carbs, but dietary fiber, iron, and folate needed for good health. So, no need to completely cut out bread from your diet.

What Does It Mean For You?

• When it comes to carbs (or anything else), be a Goldilocks eater: not too little, not too much.  Unless, of course, there are health reasons to restrict carbs or athletic reasons to increase carbs.
• Carbs can be friend or foe.  Eating whole foods, whole grains, and keeping processed snacks and sugary drinks at a minimum is an easy way to hit the carb sweet spot.
• Judge sugar by the company it keeps.  The sugar in fruit comes with a lot of other nutrients. The sugar in a soft drink, not so much.
• Don’t overlook dairy as a source of carbs; the sugar in milk and plain yogurt is from naturally occurring lactose.
• Eat fruits and veggies every day.  Those sugars come with good company.

Next up is H for Herbs (Culinary Herbs). Learn the secrets to growing culinary herbs (hint: not all herbs need full sun) and how to use them in the kitchen.

Dr. Chris Rosenbloom and Dr. Bob Murray, co-authors of Food & Fitness After 50, use their expertise and education in nutrition and exercise to translate science into easy-to-digest bites to inform and enlighten readers on all things healthy aging. Chris, a nutrition professor emerita, a registered dietitian, and a gerontologist, and Bob, an exercise physiologist, researcher, and hydration expert, believe it is never too late to eat well, move well, and be well.