Cutting out carbs could shorten your life, study finds

All the more reason to eat pasta for dinner tonight
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Pasta, bread and potatoes. Three words that can incite deep fear among anyone that is trying to lose weight.

These foods are often seen as ‘bad’ foods that people tend to avoid if they are watching their weight – but you may want to reconsider this as a new study has found cutting out carbs can actually shorten your lifespan.

A 25-study out of the US has found that moderate carb consumption is healthier than cutting out carbs all together.

The study, which was published in The Lancet Public Health, asked 15,400 peopled to fill out questionnaires on the food and drink they consumed as well as their portion sizes.

The researchers followed this group of people for 25 years and found that those who got 50 to 55 per cent of their energy from carbs had a lower risk of death compared with those consuming both a low and high amount of carbohydrates.

In fact, if less than 40 per cent of your diet is from carbs and more than 70 per cent, you have a higher risk of mortality. So it’s best to make sure carbs take up around 50 per cent of your diet.

They found that 50-year-olds eating a moderate carb diet could expect to live another 33 years, four years longer than those on a low carb diet and one year longer than those on a high carb diet.

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Researcher, Dr Sara Seidelmann said in a statement: “Low-carb diets that replace carbohydrates with protein or fat are gaining widespread popularity as a health and weight loss strategy.

“However, our data suggests that animal-based low-carbohydrate diets, which are prevalent in North America and Europe, might be associated with shorter overall life span and should be discouraged. Instead, if one chooses to follow a low-carbohydrate diet, then exchanging carbohydrates for more plant-based fats and proteins might actually promote healthy ageing in the long term.”

However, having a healthy amount of carbs in your diet doesn’t mean loading your plate with hot chip sandwiches – it just means eating everything in moderation.

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