Originally published February 7 2006
New study shows more carbohydrates don't necessarily mean more weight gain
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Barbara Howard, Ph.D., of the MedStar Research Institute, has led a study that overturns notions that increasing carbohydrates always leads to weight gain.
Low-carbs versus no-carbs; Many Americans are cutting back on carbohydrates in order to lose weight.
However, a long-term study now shows that eating the right kinds of carbs doesn't lead to weight gain.
National study A number of women took part in a large national study, looking at the different health benefits of a low-fat diet, which includes carbohydrates.
The study is still on going, but after seven years, researchers have enough data to make this announcement in the journal of the American Medical Association: "Our study shows that increasing carbohydrates as we did it, with an emphasis on vegetables and fruits and grains, in fact does not promote weight gain," said Barbara Howard, Ph.D., of the MedStar Research Institute.
Dr. Howard studied more than 48,000 post-menopausal women, changing some of their diets to low fat.
The goal of the study wasn't to measure weight loss.
It was to find out if a low-fat diet has other health benefits, but "We realized that it also provided a wonderful opportunity to examine the impact of a low-fat eating pattern on weight," explains Howard.
Almost half the women in the study cut back on high-fat food and replaced it with carbs, like fruits, whole grains and vegetables.
"The ones who were counseled to follow a lower-fat eating pattern with more vegetables, fruits and grains, lost some weight at first, about five pounds, and their weight all through the seven years was less than the women who didn't follow this pattern," explains Howard.
If they were, they'd need to cut calories and exercise more.
So now I am able to forgo fried foods in many instances," says Frances Plummer.
Race, size, ethinicity doesn't matter Dr. Howard says that eating a low-fat diet, including fruits, vegetables and whole grains, didn't cause weight gain in any women in the study, whether they were black, white, Hispanic, diabetic, at a healthy weight, or obese.
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