Why you should eat these 13 carbs
No, they’re not necessarily the enemy. These ones might slow down ageing, experts say.
Nutrition
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Dieters typically recoil at the mere mention of carbohydrates, considering them to be the enemy of waistlines and health.
New research, however, suggests that eating the right type of carbs slows down the ageing process, helps to ward off 11 major chronic diseases and preserves physical function and good cognitive and mental health.
The evidence was gathered over 30 years as part of a study published in the JAMA Network Open journal by researchers at Tufts University and Harvard’s TH Chan School of Public Health.
“Our findings,” says Andres Ardisson Korat, an assistant professor in the Human Nutrition Research Centre on Ageing at Tufts, “suggest that carbohydrate quality may be an important factor in healthy ageing.”
Between 1984 and 2016 they tracked diet and health data of more than 47,000 women from their middle age onwards. Those who had consumed most carbohydrates of the highest nutritional quality – including whole grains, fruits, vegetables and legumes – were up to 37 per cent more likely to age healthily than those who reported consuming the lowest intakes of wholesome carbs.
Higher intakes of ultra-processed and refined carbs had a negative effect, resulting in 13 per cent worse odds of healthy ageing.
“Refined carbohydrates, which included carbohydrates from added sugars, refined grains, and [white] potatoes, were unfavourably associated with healthy ageing,” Ardisson Korat says. “Minimising the intake of those carbohydrates is related to better healthy ageing outcomes.”
“Carbohydrates have unfairly taken a bashing, but this study reinforces that high-quality carbohydrates are essential for gut health and healthy ageing,” says the dietitian Bahee Van de Bor, a spokesman for the British Dietetic Association.
“They provide a valuable source of both soluble and insoluble fibre, as well as key vitamins and minerals that support digestion, metabolic health, immune function and beyond.”
Eli Brecher, a registered nutritionist, says that carbs should ideally be combined with a source of protein and healthy fats in order to create a balanced meal that supports stable blood sugar and keeps you feeling full.
So which carbs should we be eating more of? We all know the benefits of wholegrain carbs and about upping our intakes of foods such as porridge, rye bread and brown rice. But here are 13 carbs you might want to consider eating more of, say the experts:
1 PEARS
Studies have linked the consumption of pears to a reduced risk of heart disease and, thanks to the high levels of beneficial phenolic compounds found particularly in their skin, to a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes.
They are also rich in flavonoids that have been associated with a healthy gut microbiome and as having a positive effect on blood pressure levels in studies by Aedin Cassidy, professor in nutrition and preventive medicine at Queen’s University in Belfast.
2 PASTA
Researchers at the University of Minnesota who reviewed 38 published studies on pasta intake for a paper in the journal Nutrients confirmed that white pasta “does not hinder weight loss”. According to the authors, pasta is made in a way that causes the carbohydrates to digest slowly in the body when cooked, giving a much lower glycaemic response than, say, white bread. Cooling cooked pasta first produces a lower blood sugar spike.
“For added fibre, pasta made from whole-wheat or legume flours such as red lentil pasta are good options,” Brecher says. “Pasta offers sustained energy with a low glycaemic impact to keep you going.”
3 RED RICE
A nutritional analysis of red rice in the journal Molecules last year revealed it has an 87.2 per cent carbohydrate content, provides some protein and also contains the plant compounds flavan-3-ols “which may provide biological benefits to human health”, according to the researchers.
Its colour indicates it is packed with “a unique spectrum of antioxidants, more so than regular brown rice”, says Dr Linia Patel, a researcher in the department of clinical sciences and community health at the Universita degli Studi di Milano in Italy.
4 RASPBERRIES
Raspberries are an overlooked berry and yet, high in fibre and polyphenols, they can “help to reduce inflammation and support a healthy gut”, Brecher says.
In one study, 59 overweight participants with belly fat obesity were asked to either consume 280g a day of frozen raspberries or to stick to their usual diet for two months. Results showed the raspberry-rich diet to have positive effects on immune function.
5 RED KIDNEY BEANS
Brecher says that these are packed with plant-based protein, iron and “resistant starch that feeds our gut bacteria”.
Researchers from the University of Manitoba in Canada showed that blood pressure was lower two hours after eating red kidney beans compared with rice.
6 LENTILS
Patel says that fibre-packed pulses and legumes should be a staple in our diets and that lentils are “the protein powerhouse of the legume family”.
For a study she published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Patel showed that eating just one 40g portion of dried pulses or legumes (about three tablespoons when cooked) per week decreases the risk of colon cancer by 21 per cent compared with those who ate none.
7 GREEN PEAS
Don’t ignore common green peas as a source of carbs in the diet. “They are a valuable sweet, starchy veg that pack a punch in terms of fibre that might help with blood sugar control,” Patel says.
“They also contain vitamin K1 and help with healthy blood clotting.”
8 FIGS
“Sweet from naturally occurring sugar and rich in calcium, potassium and prebiotic fibre, figs help to nourish gut bacteria,” Brecher says. “As a source of vitamin K1, they also help to support bone health.”
Figs are packed with a plant hormone called abscisic acid, which helps to manage the body’s blood glucose response. Eating more fresh or dried figs might help to reduce blood sugar levels by up to 13.5 per cent in eight weeks, according to a review by food scientists at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.
9 BROCCOLI
About 7 per cent of the total weight of broccoli is carbs and it is a great standby, Van de Bor says.
She says it also contains powerful compounds called glucosinolates that are broken down to form biologically active compounds that are known to have health benefits.
10 QUINOA
“Quinoa provides fibre, iron, B vitamins and good amounts of protein as well as valuable carbohydrates,” Brecher says. “Technically a seed, quinoa is a complete plant protein and is naturally gluten-free, so a good option for those avoiding common grains like wheat, barley and spelt.”
In a 2024 review in Frontiers in Nutrition journal, researchers from China reported that quinoa is also rich in flavonoids, saponins, peptides and polysaccharides, which may help to regulate blood sugar, lower cholesterol levels and also have an anti-inflammatory effect on the body, all of which are helpful in the prevention of heart disease.
11 RED CABBAGE
“This is a tremendous carb-loaded vegetable as it keeps for ever in the fridge, ready to supercharge any salad,” Patel says. “It is loaded with anthocyanins – the “daddy” of polyphenols – which give it its purple colour.”
The US Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service identified 36 anthocyanins in red cabbage, which have been shown in some studies to provide cancer protection, improve brain function and promote heart health.
12 KIWI FRUIT
“Two kiwis are packed with 5g of fibre, which is 16 per cent of your recommended daily amount,” Patel says.
The green flesh of the furry-skinned fruit contains tiny amounts of the hormone melatonin, which plays a role in circadian rhythm regulation and scientists have shown that eating a couple before bed might aid sleep.
13 BUTTER BEANS
“Butter beans provide manganese, a trace mineral involved in antioxidant defence, bone formation and energy metabolism – all important in supporting healthy ageing,” Van de Bor says. “They are also a source of folate, which supports normal cell division, red blood cell formation and helps reduce homocysteine levels – a factor linked to cardiovascular health.”
Originally published as Why you should eat these 13 carbs
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