Carbs - Balance

Wow, people more qualified than me are extolling the virtues of a balanced diet.

Carbs. Whole grains. Fiber. Good.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two studies presented on Sunday confirm the benefits of a varied, wholesome diet and call into question the wisdom of low-carb and other fad diets that limit what kinds of foods people can eat.

In one, a team at cereal-maker General Mills found men and women who ate three or more daily servings of whole grain foods were the least likely to be overweight or obese.

In a second, university-based researchers found people who ate a variety of foods were more likely to get the recommended levels of vitamins and other nutrients than people who stuck to a few favorite foods.

Both studies were presented by the American Association of Nutritional Sciences at a joint conference in Washington called Experimental Biology 2004.

Dr. Carolyn Good and colleagues at General Mills Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition in Minneapolis looked at 9,000 men and women taking part in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Continuing Survey of Food Intakes.

This nationwide study collects information on the consumption of whole grains -- found in packaged cereals, whole-grain breads and crackers. Processed white flour, for example, does not count as a whole grain.

This goes out to all that brown rice, Kashi Good Friends, and Post Raisin Bran that I consume on a regular basis. Metamucil avoidance. Atkins eschewing, fiber chewing.

Carbs. Eat them. Burn them. Live.

hln

Posted by hln at April 20, 2004 09:35 PM | Nutrition | TrackBack