6 Healthy Carbs To Keep In Your Diet

By Nicci Micco, M.S., editor-at-large for EatingWell Magazine

I've never been a fan of low-carb diets: Our bodies and our brains need carbohydrates to work effectively.

Of course, not all carbohydrates are created equally. First of all, fruits, dairy and vegetables are all sources of carbohydrates. And when it comes to starches, there are indeed "good" carbs (we'll get to that in a sec) and the "bad" ones that, if you eat them all the time, can raise your risk of developing diseases like heart disease and diabetes. (We're talking about doughnuts, cakes and even refined white breads.) On the flip side, eating "good carbs" in place of refined ones can reduce your risk of these very same diseases -- and may even help you to lose weight because they're generally rich in fiber.

Here are six "great" carbs to keep in your diet.

Do you avoid carbs when you're trying to lose weight?

By Nicci Micco

Nicci Micco is editor-at-large for EatingWell and co-author of EatingWell 500-Calorie Dinners. She has a master's degree in nutrition and food sciences, with a focus in weight management.

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Comments

[joenp3]

02:28 PM on 02/05/2012

I do the Paleo life, 80/20. I do some organic yams, potatoes and brown rice, but no "grains". It's easy to cut out grains. I don't miss or crave them and it has really been the key, for me, to cutting body fat. I have always exercised and eaten, I thought, correctly, but without grains I am seeing stomach muscles, that I haven't seen since I was teenager and I'm not, chronologically, young.

[ginadeoliveira2008]

01:30 PM on 02/04/2012

Correction: It's on top of Health and Fitness page. Don't miss the article: Monica Reinagel's Biggest Nutrition Traps. And beware of carbs if you need to lose weight, wether they be whole or not!

[ginadeoliveira2008]

01:25 PM on 02/04/2012

Please read "Biggest Nutrition Traps", by Monica Reinagel, on top of the Health and Nutrition page. If you need to lose weight beware of carbs, whole or not!

[ragdolly]

08:22 PM on 02/02/2012

Good article. Good links. Thanks!

[I-US]

07:00 PM on 02/02/2012

Someone should alert the presses that bulgur, which has been eaten for thousands of years, is the cause of our *current* epidemics of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. That same someone should rename the "diseases of affluence" something else to account for the new discovery that whole grains and beans, cultivated and eaten for thousands of years, are the root causes of civilization's problems *today.* If only we could quit eating barley, then world peace would descend upon us, and our waistlines would shrink to 19th-century levels...oh wait, they wore corsets. /sarc

[Hcg Plan]

11:49 AM on 02/02/2012

Love the fact that popcorn made the list. However I think it's still very important to consume medium to small amounts of any of these foods. Over eating even with good carbs like these can still be just as harmful to your diet. Whole wheat and whole grains are always a healthier choice over other options.
Large list of good carbs: http://www.freedietsource.com/diets/resistant_starch_foods.html

[JavaManiac]

07:56 PM on 02/01/2012

For anyone that wants to try pearl barley and like lentils. I saute a little onion and carrot in olive oil add in my one cup of pearl barley, and two cups of lentils - toss quickly - add 4 cups or more of boiling water (from the kettle). Turn down to a simmer and let it bubble away for just under an hour. It is fabulous served over rice. We like Basmatti - but any rice will do.

[ragdolly]

08:12 PM on 02/02/2012

thanx for the idea! I love the sweet aroma of basmati rice. I sometimes cook it in the rice cooker with a small handful of slivered almonds, another of golden raisins, a little minced onion or chives and some fresh parsley.

[bovine13]

08:25 AM on 02/01/2012

Glad popcorn made the list....can't get enough of the stuff.

No only if they'd make pizza a food group...

[annyperl]

08:06 AM on 02/01/2012

Thanks for the great article! I try to keep fit, so your article is really useful for me. Now I know that can eat carbs and not worry about my shape :)

[Ranveig Elvebakk]

07:12 PM on 02/01/2012

Let me know when your shape becomes what you want on grains---

[elcerritan]

04:03 AM on 02/03/2012

I hope annyperl wants her shape to be "round".

[ragdolly]

08:15 PM on 02/02/2012

The best thing about whole grains is that they are so filling that I don't eat as much. Same with yams instead of white potatoes and brown and wild rices instead of white.

[Alvarask]

02:47 AM on 02/01/2012

Perhaps Nicci would like to provide references in the form of clinical research that demonstrates that our bodies and brains NEED carbs in order to function effectively.

[elcerritan]

04:39 AM on 02/01/2012

I suspect we'll be waiting a loooong time ...

[EvolveorPerish]

11:14 PM on 01/31/2012

Where is the article- I can't seem to find it- but I found a great ad for carb laden meals.

You don't have to try to keep carbs in your diet, carbs will find you no matter how hard you try to hide.

The only carbs you need to keep in your diet are from fruits and veggies as that is where the nutrition lies. Grains are opiate like yummies that do nothing but make you sick and fat.

[FaunaAndFlora]

12:10 AM on 02/01/2012

I found this article to be interesting. It begins with the premise that there were no immediate benefits to trading in hunting and gathering for a settled existence based on agriculture, then suggests that some cultures may have made the transition because the opioids in grains and dairy made them feel a little better.

http://disweb.dis.unimelb.edu.au/staff/gwadley/msc/WadleyMartinAgriculture.html

[EvolveorPerish]

01:55 AM on 02/01/2012

awesome article-I'm a junkie for that kind of thing
some thoughts-

could the fact that grain which can be stored for very long periods of time (some for years) have also led to the need to "protect" the grain and therefor defense of the storage site (armies)? I got that idea from "Ishmael" by Daniel Quinn- great book- He describes how the invent if agriculture turned us from being "givers" into "takers". Wouldn't that be something if grains were the root of of our modern day scourge of war. Pre oil . . .

Also- do paleo eaters as a group shun larger cities or have an urge to "escape", occasionally, because they are not opiated?

The amount of gluten in wheat has been increased through selective breeding( to make things even more elastic and yummy), some GMO work is being done to make super gluten wheat- is there a correlation with that to our current obesity epidemic? (I also blame HFCS)

On a personal note, my "hunger" is different when I'm eating clean-no dairy no wheat- its more of clock thing- got to get some fuel- vs, man, I really could go for a pizza, I am staaaarving! Less brain fog, achey joints, bloating, cheating makes me feel horrible and doesn't seem to reward like it used to.

great stuff

[ginadeoliveira2008]

12:59 PM on 02/09/2012

My point exactly. Thank you!

[DrP]

10:54 PM on 01/31/2012

I want to scream "No!" Our bodies are brains do not need carbs. My body rebels against carbs. They make me sick, fat, and my blood sugar and insulin levels go through the roof. No thanks.

[ragdolly]

08:18 PM on 02/02/2012

I believe you. Everyone is so different. It took a lot of trial and error to find out what works for me personally.

[SpiralUp]

10:19 PM on 01/31/2012

why would anyone need to eat grains? they are anti-nutrient and do not provide a SINGLE thing that other foods cannot provide more efficiently.

[samknox]

08:11 PM on 01/31/2012

"Do you avoid carbs when you're trying to lose weight?"

This sort of thing always bugs me.

Fat-loss is the third-most important benefit of carbohydrate restriction. The first two are:

1) Reduced risk of Type 2 diabetes, and

2) Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.

[EvolveorPerish]

02:43 PM on 02/01/2012

And eat your good fats!

[samknox]

07:52 PM on 02/01/2012

Word.

[Paleo Man]

06:29 PM on 01/31/2012

Rather than attempt to set forth in such a limited space as we have here all the seriously deleterious health impacts from wheat and barley and other gluten grains, I'll commend the new book from cardiologist William Davis, MD, "Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health." Serious proponents of whole wheat and its ilk are harder and harder to find in the face of a one-way avalanche of high quality published research adverse to gluten, and not just in celiacs. But as here, they can still occasionally be found. Sort of the way they used to find the occasional Japanese soldier holding out in a remote jungle hideout years and years after Japan has utterly lost WWII.

[I-US]

04:20 PM on 02/05/2012

Wheat consumption has gone down in the US over the last decade. But surprisingly, Americans' weight has not. We eat half as many pounds of wheat per person than men and women did in the nineteenth century.