In recent years there has been a lot of talk and promotion by the fitness industry on low carbohydrate, high fat and high protein diets such as Paleo and Atkins. The ideas behind these diets are for us to go back to eating the foods we did as hunter/gatherers thousands of years ago. Switching from highly processed food to more natural foods, as these diets promote will of course help you lose weight, feel healthier and most likely improve your current health slightly, but there is very little evidence that these diets benefit your long-term health as they tend to be too heavy on meat consumption.
The other unfortunate thing that has happened as a result of these diets becoming more popular; Carbohydrates have now become the new demonized food in the media today with rice, pasta, bread and root vegetables all getting labeled as bad for your waistline and health.
Although I completely agree that highly processed, sugar laden Carbs are a serious risk to your long-term health, there is nothing wrong with whole-food nutrient dense carbohydrates like fruits, vegetables, oats, wholegrain rice, wholegrain pasta, couscous, quinoa and buckwheat. In fact a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and some wholegrain carbohydrates helps reduce the risk of CHD (coronary heart disease), cancer and chronic disease as all of these plant based foods are rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and all important fiber, that you simply cannot get from meat or fat.
It is proven that a balanced whole-food diet of moderate meat intake, good fats, vegetables and balanced wholegrain carbohydrates is best for your long term health over any other diet. The WHO (World Health Organization) and the food and agriculture organization of the UN both recommend a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables and wholegrain carbohydrates with moderate meat intake for your long term health.
So remember, the only bad carbohydrates are the highly processed sugar-laden kind. Feel free to eat your fruits and vegetables (your 5 a day) along with 2 portions of wholegrain carbohydrates per day to help maximize your health and help reduce the risk of chronic disease.