6 Carbs to Add to Your Diet to Help You Stay Slim

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Find out which "good" carbs to add to your diet to lose weight.

I’ve never been a fan of low-carb diets: our bodies and our brains need carbohydrates to work effectively. Of course, not all carbohydrates are created equally. First of all, fruits, dairy and vegetables are all sources of carbohydrates. And when it comes to starches, there are indeed “good” carbs (we’ll get to that in a sec) and the “bad” ones that, if you eat them all the time, can raise your risk of developing diseases like heart disease and diabetes. (We’re talking about doughnuts, cakes and even refined white breads.) On the flip side, eating “good carbs” in place of refined ones can reduce your risk of these very same diseases—and may even help you to lose weight because they’re generally rich in feel-full fiber. One study in the Journal of Nutrition found that eating three servings of whole grains a day helped people reduce their total body fat and abdominal fat. Here are 6 “great” carbs to keep in your diet.

—Nicci Micco, M.S., EatingWell Content Director

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