Yet another study proves carbs prevent Cancer and Heart Disease PASS THE CARBS PLEASE :)

Lean plate club: Go ahead, fill up on these carbs
Many people think of breads and pasta, but fruits and vegetables are
the healthiest carbohydrates to include in your diet.

By Sally Squires, Washington Post
Carbohydrate confusion. That's what David Heber, director of the UCLA
Center for Human Nutrition, often discovers among the patients he
treats.

"In the abstract," Heber says, "people think carbohydrates mean bread
and pasta. So a lot of people are shocked when I say that fruit and
vegetables are carbohydrates. They're among the healthiest
carbohydrates you can eat. They're high in fiber, low in calories and
have plenty of vitamins and antioxidants. They're really the best of
the carbs."

Not only does eating plenty of fruit and vegetables help with calorie
control, but two new reports published this month point to other
benefits.

In a study of 1,500 healthy women, Laval University researchers in
Quebec measured blood levels of a substance called insulin-like growth
factor (IGF) that helps reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer and
plays a role in preserving bone structure. Women who ate more citrus
fruit and other vitamin C-rich fruit and vegetables had higher IGF
blood levels than those who ate less produce.

In a study published this month in the American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health report
that eating plenty of fruit and vegetables helps reduce blood levels of
C-reactive protein, a substance linked to increased risk of heart
disease. The study also found a 34 percent lower risk of metabolic
syndrome among those who ate the most fruit. (Metabolic syndrome, which
is characterized by added pounds around the middle, as well as
increased levels of blood cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar,
significantly boosts the risk of type 2 diabetes.) Those who ate plenty
of vegetables had a 30 percent lower risk of the metabolic syndrome
compared with their counterparts who ate the least vegetables daily.

Carbs help control hunger

Welcome to week five of the Lean Plate Club Holiday Challenge. This
isn't a diet --or an attempt to take the joy out of your holiday. It's
simply designed to help you maintain your weight until the New Year.
Research suggests that overweight and obese people gain an average of
five pounds from Thanksgiving to New Year's -- and don't shed it in the
spring. You can join the challenge at any time. This week's food goal
is to improve the carbohydrates you eat. For activity, walk 10 minutes
three times daily.

Melanie Miller (see her Holiday Challenge video blog at
www.leanplateclub.com) has already discovered a benefit in eating more
fruit and vegetables: Less hunger.

She recently switched to fruit and vegetables from the snack bars she
had been eating. "They had so much sugar in them," says Melanie, who
now eats mangos, blueberries, bananas and apples as well as plenty of
vegetables, including bean dip and baby carrots. "If I get enough fruit
and vegetables during the day, I find that I'm not hungry like I was
with the bars."

That's because eating more highly processed carbohydrates, especially
food and drink with added sugar, can send blood sugar levels soaring.
To cope, the body produces insulin. That drops blood sugar, but as it
goes low, you get hungry again, setting off a vicious cycle.

Less processed carbohydrates, which include whole grain cereals,
crackers, bread and pasta as well as low-fat or nonfat dairy products,
are less likely to start that cycle.

Other strategies

That's a tip to keep in mind as you hit the holiday party circuit this
year, where there's likely to be a tempting array of sugary, high
calorie foods.

Snack about an hour before a party. Eat about 100 to 200 calories to
help take the edge off hunger. A few options: a cup of tomato, split
pea, bean or other vegetable soup, a slice of whole grain bread with a
couple of teaspoons of peanut butter; a glass of skim milk or a cup of
nonfat yogurt; vegetables with guacamole or bean dip.

Pace yourself. On the days when you have multiple parties, eat a single
course at each party. So make it appetizers at the first party, a salad
at the second, the main course at the third and dessert or coffee at
the last party. You get the idea.

Eat only while seated. It's easy to lose track of calories if you're
mindlessly eating while working your way down the buffet. Ditto for
those appetizers that are passed at parties during cocktails. So find a
corner to sit, talk and eat with other guests. If you can, skip the
finger foods and eat only with utensils to slow consumption.