Carb Up For Your Heart

In A Recent Study Of What Makes People Fat, Harvard Medical School Researchers Came To A Surprising Conclusion. It' Is Not How Much You Eat, But What You Eat That Causes You To Be Overweight, And The Culprit Turns Out To Be Fat. Studies Of Heart Patients Placed On Low-Fat Diets Bear This Out. Patients Have Lost 80 To 100 Pounds Over Six Months Without Feeling Hungry, On Reduced-Fat Diets. The Keys To These Low-Fat Diets Are The Complex Carbohydrates: Grains, Potatoes, Vegetables, And Legumes That Satisfy Hunger And Provide Energy Without Increasing Body Fat. Because Complex Carbohydrates Are Difficult For The Body To Convert To Fat, You Can Eat More Of Them Without Gaining Weight Or Increasing The Blood Cholesterol Level Which Can Lead To Coronary Heart Disease. In Many Countries Where Heart Disease Is Rare, People Derive 65 To 85 Of Their Calories From Carbohydrates, Mostly Potatoes And Whole Grains. That's Roughly Twice The Complex Carbohydrates Consumed By The Average American. Complex Carbohydrates Also Contain Fiber That Helps Reduce Blood Cholesterol,And In The Right Combination, Complex Carbohydrates Can Supply Your Body's Protein Requirements As Well. You Can Get Complete Proteins By Eating Both Grains And Legumes (Beans Or Peas) Some Time During The Day, Or By Combining Them At A Meal. Beans And Rice, Beans With Tacos, Pasta With Beans, Tofu With Rice, Black-Eyed Peas With Rice, Or Boston Baked Beans And Brown Bread Are Some Examples. To Make Certain You Get The Benefits From Complex Carbohydrates, You Will Probably Have To Revise Your Cooking Methods. Mashed Potatoes With Butter And Milk, Or Baked Beans With Sugar And Oil, Can Leave You With As Much Dietary Fat As A Meal Of Steak And French Fries. Use Only Skim Milk And Non-Fat Butter Granules In Making Mashed Potatoes. Leave Out The Oil When Cooking Pasta, And Use Whole-Grain Pasta For More Nutrition And Fiber. Delicious Pasta Sauces Can Also Be Made Without Oil. You May Find Oil Unneccessary In Many Recipes Where It Is Called For, And You Can Generally Cut Oil Or Margarine Requirements In Half Without Diminishing The Quality Of A Dish. Be On The Lookout For Recipes Such As Casseroles Using High-Fiber Grains And Vegetables Instead Of Meats. Try A New Carbohydrate Dish Each Week To Build Up Your Repertoire.