Carbs vs. Fats

Nutritional science, the most volatile of the sciences when it comes to shifting, has this on low-carb vs. low-fat diets for losing weight:

Q. Not all carbohydrates are bad for you. Does the study distinguish between whole-food carbohydrates and refined carbohydrates?

A. You are certainly right that the source of carbohydrates is important. Most researchers and health authorities agree that highly processed carbohydrates — sugar and white bread being the most obvious examples — have a very different effect on blood sugar, cholesterol and weight gain than complex carbohydrates like fresh fruit, beans, plants, brown rice and other unrefined carbohydrates.

However, the latest study took this into account. People in the low-carb group were told to eat plenty of vegetables and even fresh fruit. They went to nutritional counseling sessions in which they learned to distinguish between complex carbohydrates and simple carbohydrates. They were encouraged to always choose complex carbs. So although they ate more fat and lowered their overall carbohydrate intake from about 50 percent of their daily calories to roughly a third, the carbs they were consuming were typically coming from unrefined sources.