Good Carbs, Bad Carbs

Just a couple of years ago many folks thought all carbohydrates were bad. Low-carb diets were the rage. Folks who had stuck to low-fat foods a few years earlier wouldn't go near a slice of rye bread, a 3-bean salad or a bowl of Cheerios. Even carrots became a no-no for people on low-carb diets who lived by the "glycemic index." That scale shows how quickly a food raises your blood sugar. Even though they had very few calories, carrots were out.

The pendulum has swung back. Avoiding all fats didn't make us thin, and avoiding all carbs won't, either. Neither extreme is healthy. It's which fats and carbohydrates you eat that count. There are good fats that help keep your blood vessels clear and open, and bad ones that clog them up. There are good carbohydrates that can help prevent diabetes, heart disease, cancer and a host of other ills, and then there's sugary soda and a bag of chips.

What are the good carbs?

• Whole fruits: Enjoy them fresh, dried, canned or frozen--but without added sugar or corn sweeteners. Fruit juices aren't quite as good because most of the fiber is strained out, they aren't as filling and they're more likely to spike your blood sugar. But smoothies made from whole fruits and low-fat yogurt are great.
• Nearly all vegetables except potatoes: Don't hesitate to eat peas or carrots just because you heard that they're high on the glycemic index. They're nutritious low-calorie foods. Whole corn does contain a lot of sugar, but it also has plenty of fiber and other nutrients like potassium. Try corn on the cob without butter or salt--you may be surprised by how good it is. Potatoes don't have a lot going for them, though. They break down into sugar quickly, and nearly all preparations add bad fats to their empty calories.
• Beans and legumes: That includes peanuts, which are legumes. Garbanzo, kidney or black beans are a nice hearty addition to salad.
• Whole wheat, oats, bran, brown rice, bulgar, barley, and couscous: Enjoy pumpernickel, rye and whole wheat bread. Have brown rice with chicken, and try barley soup or a couscous side dish.
• High-fiber cereals made from bran, oats and whole wheat are healthy food for breakfast.

What are the bad ones?

• Sweet drinks like soda, fruit juice, fruit-flavored beverages, and bottled sweetened teas are the biggest single source of sugar in our diets. And some nutritionists suspect that the fructose used to sweeten them is particularly likely to lead to weight gain because it doesn't make you feel full like other foods do. There's nothing wrong with one 8-ounce glass of real fruit juice a day, but more is not better.
• Store-bought cookies, cakes, pies and other sweets usually contain many unhealthy ingredients like trans fats along with lots of sugar or corn sweeteners. Eat fruit when you crave something sweet.
• White pasta, white rice, white bread, and refined or sweetened cereals supply lots of calories with little nutrition. Most hamburger buns, pizza crust, muffins and bagels are made from refined, processed grains. Don't be fooled by misleading labels. Stone-gound, multigrain, cracked wheat, or 100% wheat aren't whole-grain. Nor is bread that is brown necessarily whole-grain; it may just contain molasses. Look at the ingredient list. Whole grain should be the first ingredient, and there shouldn't be any enriched or bleached flour.

People who eat lots of good carbs have lower rates of many health conditions:

• High blood pressure, heart disease, heart failure and stroke Fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grain breads and cereals are low in fat and salt and have no saturated fat or cholesterol to clog up your arteries. The fiber in them reduces inflammation that is associated with heart disease.
• Weight gain, insulin resistance and diabetes Low-carb diet advocates will tell you that carbohydrates are bad for diabetics or people at risk. But that's not true of good carbs. Whole grains are digested slowly, so they don't send your blood sugar soaring. Many studies have found that people who eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grain foods are less prone to overweight and obesity. They have less belly fat. In weight loss studies the Mediterranean diet, which includes lots of healthy fats and carbohydrates, comes out even with or ahead of low-carb diets.
• Cancer People who eat more fruits and vegetables have fewer cases of lung, oral, esophageal, stomach, and colon cancer. Beans can replace some red meats in the diet, which can reduce cancer risk. Whole grains, white vegetables (garlic, onions, leeks, chives and scallions) and cruciferous veggies (broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower) may be especially good at fighting colon cancer.
• Alzheimer's disease Green leafy vegetables, citrus fruits and juices, whole wheat bread, and enriched breads, cereals and grains products have nutrients that may help the nerve cells in the brain stay healthy.
• Constipation You may lose weight on the Atkins diet, but many people also are constipated. Even if you're eating vegetables, it's hard to get enough mass and fiber to have soft bowel movements on a diet that's mainly meat, eggs, poultry, fish and cheese. Fiber makes the cells lining your gut release mucus, which helps keep things moving. Eating plenty of beans, fresh and dried fruits and whole-grain cereals (especially bran) goes a long way towards preventing constipation.

You can't replace good carbs with supplements. There is no evidence that supplements are as good for you as the vegetables, fruits, beans, and grains they come from. For example, wheat bran supplements have no benefit for diabetics, but eating the real thing does. Vitamin A supplements can't do what beta-carotene-rich carrots, squash, and pumpkin do for you. The truth is we often don't know what nutrients within whole foods produce better health. We do know that most unrefined carbohydrates are great for your health.

So enjoy a snack of baby carrots, raisins, dried apricots, cherry tomatoes, olives or grapes. Dare to eat a peach, and peas and peanuts, too. Buy whole-wheat pasta and bread and a high-fiber whole grain cereal. A wide variety of healthy carbohydrates is one of the foundations of a healthy diet.