Eating This Many Carbs Is Linked to a Longer Life

When it comes to carbs, your best nutrition strategy might be the oldest one in the book: moderation. That’s according to a new study published in The Lancet Public Health, which finds that people who get about half of their total calories from carbohydrates may be at a lower risk of early death than those who follow either very high- or very low-carb diets. The researchers estimated that people who ate a moderate amount of carbohydrates at age 50 had a life expectancy of around 83, compared to 82 for high-carb eaters and 79 for low-carb eaters. For the study, researchers analyzed data provided by nearly 15,500 middle-aged U.S. adults participating in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study. All of the participants completed a detailed diet questionnaire at the beginning of the study, then another six years later. They also provided information about their demographic background, education and income levels, smoking status, exercise habits and medical histories. The researchers then tracked them for about 25 years. After adjusting for lifestyle factors, the researchers zeroed in on associations between carbohydrate intake and mortality. They found that mortality risk was higher for those on the high and low ends of the carb spectrum — that is, those who consumed more than 70% or less than 40% of their total calories from carbohydrates — than for those who drew between 50% and 55% of their caloric intake from carbs. These findings were corroborated by...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Diet/Nutrition healthytime onetime Source Type: news