There's good news for carb lovers, with new research finding that eating pasta, bread and potatoes could make you live longer.
The study found low carbohydrate diets designed to take centimetres off your waistline could potentially reduce your life expectancy.
Low-carb diets, such as Atkins, have become increasingly popular for weight loss and have shown promise for lowering the risk of some illnesses, the BBC reports.
But the US study over 25 years indicated that moderate carb consumption - as opoosed to switching meat for plant-based protein and fats - is healthier.
In the study, published in The Lancet Public Health, 15,400 people from the US filled out questionnaires on the food and drink they consumed, along with portion sizes.
From this, scientists estimated the proportion of calories they got from carbohydrates, fats, and protein.
After following the group for an average of 25 years, researchers found that those who got 50 to 55 per cent of their energy from carbohydrates (the moderate carb group and in line with UK dietary guidelines) had a slightly lower risk of death compared with the low and high-carb groups.
Researchers estimated that, from the age of 50, people in the moderate carb group were on average expected to live for another 33 years.
They found that eating more beef, lamb, pork, chicken and cheese in place of carbs was linked with a slightly increased risk of death.
Carbohydrates include vegetables, fruit and sugar but the main source of them is starchy foods, such as potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and cereals.
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