The carbohydrate controversy. (Healthy Lifestyle).(Brief Article)

For years, it was a given that the most heart-healthy diet was low in fat and high in carbohydrates: fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains and other starches. But lately, experts have qualified the high-carb part, saying that overloading on carbohydrates can make you fat--and actually up your risk of heart disease. What now?

So far, many scientists who help set dietary guidelines are holding fast: Carbohydrates, they contend, should still make up the largest share--55 to 60 percent--of our daily calories.

But, there is some alarm about both the quantity and quality of the carbs in our diet. Eat too many, especially too many of the wrong kind, and you may, indeed, be courting heart disease.

Quantity

As to amount, the bottom line is simple: calories. Carbs have plenty of them, yet we tend to dismiss this. "Often, when we cut back on fat, we feel we can eat much larger portions of carbohydrates," says Amy Soccoccia, R.D., a dietician at the WakeMed Heart Hospital in Raleigh, N.C. Not true. Any excess calories we eat--whether from a cream sauce or starchy pasta--is stored as excess fat. And excess body fat makes us more susceptible to heart disease.

Quality

Recent research suggests that the kinds of carbs we eat matter as much as the amounts. "We know that there are good and bad fats," says Simin Liu, M.D., director of nutrition research and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. "Similarly, we now know that there are good and bad carbohydrates."