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health ideas
the truth about carbs and their role in long-term, healthy weight loss
By Weight Watchers | 10/21/2003

No doubt you've heard something recently about carbohydrates and their role in diet and weight loss. With a long history of providing science-based weight-loss programs that are safe, healthy, and focused on the long term, you can count on Weight Watchers to give you sound information.

No- and low-carb diets may be the latest "craze" in weight loss, but they've taken the sound idea of cutting back on empty calories and hijacked it into extreme, flawed thinking. The pseudo- science that's making the rounds says things like "only carbs can turn to fat," "how many calories you eat has nothing to do with what you weigh," and "carbs are bad for your health."

Sounds possible, but it's not true. Fact is, any calories eaten beyond what your body burns are stored as body fat.

So how do some people lose weight by following a no- or low-carb diet? A scientific review published in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association* answers the question: People following these extreme diets ate fewer calories.1 Being told to eat unrestricted amounts of one type of food doesn't even begin to make up for what's been cut.

So if you need to cut calories to lose weight, should you cut out all carbs? No! Many carbs — including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and non-fat dairy — provide essential nutrients and are vital to your health and well-being. On the other hand, excess consumption of saturated fat and trans fat has been repeatedly shown to hurt your long-term health. So, although weight loss is an important health goal, finding a smart, healthy way to lose the weight and keep it off is what counts.

In the package of articles that follows, we present the truth about carbs. Read on to learn more about how to make carbs part of your healthy weight-loss program. We provide you with important information as well as a "carb scorecard" that ranks ten types of foods containing carbs according to their nutrition and health benefits.

Here's to a healthy step on your journey toward long-term weight-loss!

To read more about carbs, click on one of the links below:

Learn more information about carbs and how they fit into a healthy weight-loss plan

Learn about specific sources of carbohydrates and what they can do for you.

Read what the experts have to say about carbs.

Not all carbs are created equal. Find the right fit for you.

Can you read pdf files? To see the brochure version of the information listed above, click here

* Bravata DM, et al. Efficacy and safety of low- carbohydrate diets. JAMA 289 (14): 1837 - 1850, 2003.


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