In the past few years, weve heard a lot about how carbohydrates are bad, and how the road to weight loss is low-carb eating. In fact, have you checked out the plethora of low-carb products even whole stores dedicated to high protein, low carbohydrate eating plans? It would be easy to conclude, given what the media and some health and diet professionals have been telling us, that carbohydrates are necessarily bad and should be avoided.

Why, then, are grains at the top of many government eating charts (ie. they are the things we should be eating the most of, according to these charts)? Where is the misinformation? Does the government really want us to be overweight and unhealthy?

In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. And contrary to popular belief, it is very possible to lose weight while still eating carbohydrates as long as theyre the right carbs, so to speak! If you look more carefully at those government generated charts (they are available online, too) youll notice that, though pasta is included in the grains section, so are a variety of other grains. Try brown rice, for example, or try a more exotic pilaf made of kamut, wild rice of quinoa. Try oatmeal in the morning, or birds eye cereal. All of these are examples of the healthiest types of grains. You should eat them on a daily basis, just as the charts suggest.

So think twice before you decide to adopt high protein eating plans such as Atkins, or the induction stage of the South Beach diet. In fact, there are some fairly serious health problems associated with eating exclusively protein, which is what you tend to use to fill the gaps once your carbohydrate intake has been severely diminished. Animal proteins are great sources of certain nutrients, and shouldnt be avoided altogether, unless youre prepared to follow a very careful and strict vegan eating plan.

However, they are also high in saturated fat and cholesterol or they can be, at any rate. It is very important that you take that into account before adopting a diet such as Atkins. It is doubly important if you are already at risk for heart disease, or if there is heart disease in your family (as these things tend to have a hereditary element to them much of the time). Think again about having your diet consist predominantly of proteins, particularly animal proteins.

The right carbohydrates can actually help you lose weight by sweeping fat from your system. This occurs if the carbohydrates you are eating are high in fiber. If they are natural whole grains, they most likely will be.

The current prejudice against carbohydrates, therefore, is entirely unjustified. They can and should be enjoyed as a part of a balanced diet. In fact, you can even eat bread and past. There are several whole wheat pastas that are widely available today even from regular grocery stores, as these are major brands. You need to cook them a little longer than you cook white pasta, and the taste may take a little getting used to, but ultimately, many people end up preferring whole grain pasta. The same goes for brown rice, as opposed to white.

Its true that we started out as hunters and gatherers, and that meat, fish, and wild fruits and vegetables characterized the early humans diet. Nevertheless, we have had agriculture for at least six thousand years now and even before that, humans must have eaten some natural forms of grain, because otherwise, how would we know to grow them once agriculture was developed? The formation of our molars are also indicative of the grinding type of chewing that is necessary for chewing whole grains. The implication is clear humans are meant to eat carbohydrates! Virtually every great culinary tradition has a type of grain that takes a central role, be it bread or pasta or rice.

Though it may help you lose weight in the short term, therefore, in the long run, there is nothing to be achieved by cutting out carbohydrates. We can never really cut out carbs completely; they are a vital part of the human diet, and always will be, in all probability. The trick is to find out which carbohydrates are the most beneficial, and concentrate on those.