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Dan Buettner has said that a healthy diet should include plenty of complex carbohydrates.
While certain diets recommend cutting down on carbs to stay healthy, Buettner has suggested that the problem is that the word carbs does not distinguish between nutrient-dense carbohydrates like lentils and less nutritious carbs like candy or cakes.
The author, producer, and plant-based diet advocate shared a short video on Instagram earlier this month with an accompanying caption explaining his thoughts on the topic.
“Carbs aren’t the enemy – the wrong carbs are,” wrote Buettner on Instagram. “While junk food gives carbs a bad name, the longest-living people thrive on complex carbs like beans, whole grains, and sweet potatoes.”
Buettner has been researching longevity hotspots and Blue Zones for over 20 years, and his work has included books, National Geographic cover stories, and a TED Talk, as well as 2023’s Netflix mini-series Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones.
“We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that people who […] live the longest, that we can actually record, were eating mostly complex carbohydrates,” said Buettner. “But the problem is, the doughnuts and the cakes and the candies give carbohydrates a bad name.”
While there’s no reason to avoid plant-based treats and candies all the time, something like a gummy candy offers quick energy but little else, while a portion of starchy sweet potato offers vitamins, minerals, protein, and fiber, even though each one is technically a carbohydrate.
Read more: The Best 5 Foods To Eat For Longevity, According To Plant-Based Doctors
‘You should be eating mostly complex carbohydrates’
Carbohydrates are an important source of energy for the human body, and complex carbohydrates are generally considered an essential part of any healthy, well-balanced diet.
The body breaks down carbs into glucose, which powers cells, tissues, and organs, including the brain. In fact, the brain alone requires around 500 calories per day to function properly, and it consumes around half of all the sugar-based energy in the body. Ideally, this sugar would come from nutrient-dense carbohydrates like vegetables, fruit, and grains.
“So what should you be eating? About 70 percent of all your calories should be complex carbohydrates,” said Buettner. “You need fat; you also need protein, but you should be eating mostly complex carbohydrates if you actually want to live to 100.”
