Eating Carbs Can Extend Your Life, According to Science (but There’s a Catch)
It's a great day to be alive, especially if you're a lover of carbs. New research just confirmed that eating carbs can extend your life, with one tiny catch: moderation.
According to a new study in The Lancet Public Health, a diet with moderate carbohydrate consumption lowers the risk of death more than both low- and high-carb diets.
From the research, it was estimated that people who ate a moderate amount of carbs at age 50 had a life expectancy of around 83 years. That's compared to 82 for high-carb eaters and 79 for low-carb eaters. But what's “moderate”? 50 to 55 percent of caloric intake from carbohydrates was linked to the lowest risk of mortality.
As for why, per the study, it might be that people on the high end of the scale are eating too many refined carbs (instead of whole grains and unrefined carbs), and those on the low end tend to swap carbs for dairy products and meat (instead of plant-derived proteins and fats).
So...permission to eat that bowl of pasta and not feel guilty? Granted—just make it whole wheat. (We've been waiting our whole lives for this.)