Huh?

That’s exactly what I thought when I looked at my health news feed pictured above. Carbohydrates will kill you—maybe. Too many are bad. Too few are bad. It’s all referencing the same study published in Lancet Public Health. What the heck is going on? You’ve heard that beauty is in the eye of the beholder? Evidently, so are provocative headlines.

Researchers examined the mortality rate of participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. The subjects had been followed for 25 years. At the beginning of the study and periodically afterwards, they completed an abbreviated Food Frequency Questionnaire using food models to estimate serving sizes. Foods were analyzed using the Harvard food database to estimate protein, fat, and carbohydrates as well as sources of fats and protein.

What did they find? Just what the headlines said: too many or too few carbohydrates are related to an increase in death. As always, the details are found in the data. We’ll take a look in tomorrow’s Memo.

What are you prepared to do today?