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Rethink carbohydrates

You can benefit from the carbohydrates in whole plant foods, such as whole fruits, legumes, vegetables, and whole grains.

Despite its shortcomings and fallacies, the trendy pro-paleo, anti-carbohy­drate movement is bang-on about refined carbohydrates, such as sugar and white flour, being strongly associated with adverse health outcomes and dia­betes risk. The vast majority of the carbohydrates Americans consume fall into this category. Yet when carbohydrates come from whole plant foods, they’re consistently associated with positive health outcomes. In fact the healthiest populations in the world have carbohydrate intakes ranging from 50 to 80 percent of calories! Carbohydrates are not the enemy; refined car­bohydrates are. Carbohydrate-rich whole plant foods are loaded with phytochemicals, antioxidants, fiber, and other protective components, so it’s a colossal mistake to lump them in with refined carbohydrates