Choose Your Carbs Carefully

The type of carbs you choose may have a significant impact on your health if you’re overweight.

Eating slowly digested carbohydrates, such as those in whole grains, beans and vegetables that are high in dietary fiber, reduces markers for inflammation associated with chronic disease, according to a recent study from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle. These foods, which don’t cause blood-glucose levels to spike, also increase a hormone that helps regulate fat and sugar metabolism in the body. Carbohydrate foods that are based on refined white flour and those that are highly sweetened have the undesirable potential to cause rapid blood glucose spikes, according to the center’s nutrition experts.