Eating Some Carbs, But Not Too Many, Could Help You Live Longer, Study Suggests

First there was high carb, then there was low carb and now there's … medium carb?

It may not sound as sexy, but eating carbohydrates in moderation may be best for boosting longevity, a large new study suggests.

The study, which involved more than 15,000 Americans who were tracked for a quarter of a century, found that those who ate a low-carb diet (with less than 40 percent of daily calories coming from carbs) or a high-carb diet (with more than 70 percent of daily calories coming from carbs) were more likely to die during the study period, compared with those who ate a moderate-carb diet, with about 50 to 55 percent of their calories coming from carbs.

For example, based on the findings, the researchers estimated that from age 50, people who consumed a moderate-carb diet would have a life expectancy that was about four years longer than those who consumed
a very low-carb diet (with an average life expectancy of 83 years for moderate-carb eaters versus 79 years for very low-carb eaters).

But it wasn't all bad news for people following low-carb diets. In the second part of the study, published today (Aug. 16) in the journal The Lancet Public Health, the researchers examined the effect of replacing carbs with either animal-based or plant-based proteins and fats. They found that low-carb diets that involved people consuming animal-based proteins and fats were linked with a greater risk of early death, but low-carb diets that involved people consuming plant-based proteins and fats were linked with a reduced risk of early death.