You Can Stop Cutting Carbs!

They boost your energy and help you burn fat, science now says. Learn how to fuel up the healthy way.

- Lesley Rotchford

There’s so much confusion about carbs these days. Popular eating plans like keto and Paleo claim that ditching them is the key to gaining muscle, losing weight, and revving energy. But active women and elite athletes are increasingly turning to plant-based diets, which are naturally higher-carb, to power their performance. So once and for all, what’s the full story?

Despite the trend toward heavy proteins, your body must have carbs to function properly, experts say. Beyond bread, pasta, rice, and potatoes, carbs are also prevalent in fruit, green vegetables, legumes, and even milk. These foods are full of other healthy nutrients the body needs, including B vitamins, vitamin C, potassium, calcium, and fiber, so if you limit carbs, you’re missing a lot of vitamins and minerals.

Without carbs, your energy level and your workout performance also take a hit. That’s because their main job is to stock us up with glucose, a type of sugar that’s our primary source of fuel, says Cassandra Forsythe, Ph.D., R.D.N., an assistant professor of physical education and human performance at Central Connecticut State University. That glucose moves into the liver and muscles to create glycogen stores, which your system draws on whenever it needs strength and stamina. Your body also uses the glucose from carbs to burn fat for energy, says Michele Olson, Ph.D., a professor of sport science at Huntingdon College in Alabama.