In recent years, many diet books have blamed plant foods, which are high in carbohydrates for the obesity crisis. But health care professionals have advised against low-carbohydrate diets for a long time.

A low-carb diet tends to be heavy in animal products -- this requires the production of an extra ton and a half of greenhouse gases compared to a plant-based diet.¹ A diet rich in whole grains, vegetables, fruit, and legumes is both environmentally responsible and can help maintain a healthy weight.

Low-carb diet linked to obesity

A recent study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that consuming a low-carbohydrate diet (less than 47 percent of calories from carbohydrates) is associated with a greater likelihood of being overweight or obese.² This July 2009 study found that the lowest risk may be in consuming a diet with 47 to 64 percent of calories from carbohydrates. This was not the first study with these findings.

According to a Northwestern University study, the thinnest people on Earth are those who eat the most carbohydrates. The study of more than 4,000 men and women 40 to 59 years of age from the U.S, Great Britain, Japan, and China found that people who ate a high carbohydrate diet were much thinner than their high-protein, low-carbohydrate eating counterparts.³

If Atkins diet enthusiasts think that is a stunning conclusion, the researchers also found that people who eat the most protein are actually the heaviest.

Even more notable, the more animal protein consumed, the higher the person’s weight and the greater risk to his or her health. According to study leader Linda Van Horn: “Without exception, a high-complex-carbohydrate, high-vegetable-protein diet is associated with low body mass. High-protein diets were associated with higher body weight.”

Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association affirmed that a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet does not cause weight gain. Researchers found that women following a diet low in fat and high in fruits, vegetables, and grains actually lost weight. The study, the Women’s Health Initiative Dietary Modification Trial, followed close to 50,000 post-menopausal women for more than 7 years.⁴

Eat complex carbs for good health

There are two classes of carbohydrates, simple and complex. Refined grains produce unnatural and inferior products and have been robbed of important vitamins, minerals and fiber. Whole grains are generally brown or tan and refined products are universally white as in white bread, white rice, white sugar and white flour. Products such as these contain simple carbohydrates and should be avoided.

Carbohydrates are an important part of a healthy diet, however one should always choose whole grain foods, which contain complex carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates take longer to break down and the slow absorption of sugars provides the body with a steady supply of energy and also limits the amount of sugar that is converted into fat and stored.

Ounce for ounce, carbohydrates have fewer calories than either fat or alcohol, and eating carbs does not lead to weight gain, unless, as with any food group, they are eaten to excess.

Source: green.yahoo.com