In the past, we have written quite a bit about why we aren’t fans of the keto diet. We have even written that it can be downright dangerous for some people. It can even lower your ability to process carbs and worsen blood sugar concerns. It might sound odd that we aren’t fans of the diet, as we share many keto recipes. Enjoying a keto meal and following the keto diet are different things. Just like eating a salad doesn’t make you a vegetarian, eating a keto dish doesn’t mean you have to commit to the diet.
A new study has found more reason to love complex carbs. People with blood sugar concerns are often scared the second they hear carbs being mentioned. But there is a world of difference between complex carbs, like whole grains, fruits, vegetables and legumes, and processed carbs like white flour and sugar. Complex carbs can be highly beneficial. Women with a diet rich in fiber and complex carbs in midlife are more likely to have better cognition and physical health later in life.
Andres Ardisson Korat, the new study’s lead author, explained, “The reason is they have a lot of fiber and a lot more resistant forms of starches that break down more slowly in our bodies. Low quality carbohydrates included refined grains and added sugars.”
The researchers analyzed data from 47,512 women in the Nurses’ Health Study. It is one of the largest and most respected studies on chronic diseases in women. Between 1984 and 2016, participants filled out questionnaires every four years. They answered how frequently they ate 130 foods over the past year, from never to six times daily.
For this study, the researchers focused on the surveys from 1984 and 1986 when the women were middle-aged. Then it compared that dietary information to their later health. The women whose diets were high in healthy carbs were 31 percent more likely to live until 70 without 11 major chronic diseases. They were more likely to be healthy overall and have better memories. Women with a diet high in simple carbs were 13 percent less likely to age healthily.
“Fruits are a good source of vitamins and minerals,” said Dr. Heidi Silver, director of the Vanderbilt Diet, Body Composition, and Human Metabolism Core at the Vanderbilt Univ. Medical Center. “There’s such as wide range of micro nutrients in them. You don’t get that from a lot of the other food groups.”
“Dietary fiber and high-quality carbohydrates are really good at preventing chronic diseases, such as [blood sugar concerns], cardiovascular disease, some forms of cancer,” said Dr. Korat. “But the novel finding of our paper is that it really affects all aspects of healthy aging.”
Having such a long study is incredibly useful. However, it has to be noted that it has limitations. Not only was everyone in the study a woman, but they all had the same career. Nurses tend to eat more complex carbs than average people. Our eating style has also changed since the ’80s. However, we can take away from it that complex carbs aren’t the enemy we sometimes fear them to be.
