Atkins gone Bankrupt! You are what you eat.....

With the popularity of the Atkins Diet in the early and mid 2000s (peaking in 2003), many Americans were convinced that Carbohydrates were to blame for weight gain. Following the craze, thousands shunned Carbs from their diets, avoiding pasta, bread, crackers, and much more. Some sources estimate that up to one out of every eleven Americans was on the Atkins Diet at the height of its popularity. In 2005, however, the Atkins Nutritional Company filed for bankruptcy, and the Diet itself was never the same.

Today, researchers are saying that Carbs should be welcomed back into the American diet with open arms. It turns out that Carbohydrates, particularly to those sometimes called "Resistant Starches," may actually be beneficial for staying fit.

One reason that Carbs can be helpful for losing weight is because they are filling. Eating a meal of hearty Carbohydrates leaves you feeling full, so you're less likely to snack on other- less healthy- foods. Why do Carbs like Resistant Starches fill you up? Well, they are digested more slowly than many other kinds of food, leaving you feeling full for longer.

This effect also lasts over the long term: when dieters go off their low-carb diets and eat Resistant Starches again, the Carbs leave them satiated and begin to curb their junk-food cravings over a few days.

Plus, these kinds of Carbohydrates can stimulate and speed up the metabolism, helping burn fat faster. It seems that this impact is strongest for belly fat: some research has demonstrated that eating a diet high in Carbs can lead to faster loss of fat in the stomach region- even when the same number of calories are consumed.

Another helpful role that Carbohydrates can play in the diet is to control blood sugar. Eating brown rice with other high Resistant Starch foods like beans or corn can keep one's blood sugar more balanced than low-carb diets.

While the Atkins Diet may have led us astray in the past decade, new research gives the green light to consume Carbohydrates (especially Resistant Starches) as part of a healthy diet. Not only will these Carbs not make us gain weight, but they could even help us lose weight! Staying fit without cutting out this valuable food group is sure to make anyone feel healthy and happy.