The Lowdown On Carbs

They have a bad rap—but the reality is more nuanced. Here, experts clear up a few common misconceptions.

- Camille Noe Pagan

HAVE YOU BEEN doing your best to steer clear of carbs? You’re hardly alone: “Many women believe carbohydrates are the enemy,” says nutritionist Rania Batayneh, author of The One One One Diet.

Carb-restricted eating plans are trendier than ever these days, as celebrities like Halle Berry and Kim Kardashian West espouse the benefits of the ketogenic diet. Low-carb enthusiasts say the macronutrient triggers weight gain and contributes to a host of health problems, including disease-causing inflammation and the fuzzy-headed, unfocused feeling known as brain fog. But doctors warn that this type of all-or-nothing thinking can be risky.

Labeling an entire food group as “bad” is a vast oversimplification, says David Katz, MD, founding director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center at Yale University and author of The Truth About Food. “Carbs are everything from jelly beans to pinto beans,” he points out.

Indeed, one of the reasons carbohydrates causes so much confusion is that superfoods like cauliflower are lumped into the same category with hot dog buns. Research is clear, however, that choosing the most nutritious kinds of carbohydrates can improve your health and may actually help you slim down. The first step: reconsidering what you’ve always heard about your body’s number one source of energy.

MYTH 1: A Carb Is a Carb Is a Carb