Why You Should Be Eating Carbs

Healthy SELF, SELF Magazine

By Jenny Everett, SELF magazine

Well, this news will make Dr. Atkins roll over in his grave.

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Scientists and diet gurus are claiming that carbs can actually help you lose weight. The key, they say, is to focus on "resistant starch carbs" (RSCs) -- which have tightly packed sugar molecules that aren't as easily broken down by enzymes in your mouth and intestines.

RSCs are found in foods including sweet potatoes, whole grain pasta, beans, lentils, artichokes and quinoa.

According to research by the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center for Human Nutrition, RSCs help people eat less, burn more calories and feel more energized and less stressed. Even the World Health Organization (WHO) has given them a thumbs up.

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To find out if this is a truly legitimate weight-loss strategy, and how we can smartly incorporate RSCs into our diet, we spoke to Marjorie Nolan, RD, spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. "Replacing more refined starches such as breads, cereals and white pastas with resistant starch carbs in the diet on a daily basis can help you lose weight in a number of ways," says Nolan.

"First, RSCs tend to be less caloric for the volume as compared to other forms of starch. Second, RSC foods are higher in fiber, thus promoting satiety for a longer period of time after eating -- this is because [fiber] slows digestion. Third, vitamins and minerals in these types of starches help to increase overall nutrient variety and therefore can help to promote the hormonal regulation for the brain's hunger/fullness signals."

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To get yourself eating more RSCs:

1. Stock your pantry and fridge with beans, lentils, sweet potatoes,100 percent whole grain pasta, barely and artichokes and avoid buying white bread, cereal and pastas. If they're right there in front of your face, you're more likely to work them into a meal.

2. Resolve to work one RSC into at least two meals a day.

3. Keep a food diary with a plan for working one new RSC or recipe with an RSC food into your diet each week. "Any smart weight-loss plan requires pre-planning," says Nolan. For inspiration, check out this recipe for Artichokes with Quinoa (an RSC double whammy!)

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"For the average adult, about two servings of starch per meal is recommended for weight loss," says Nolan. "To maximize your weight loss, aim for resistant starch carbs at least two out of three meals per day."

Have you ever heard of RSCs? Any great recipe suggestions?

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Photo Credit: Condé Nast Digital Studio