A number of popular diets are focused on carbohydrates. Some demonize them. Then warn you against eating any carbohydrates. Others in fact, emphasize a high carbohydrate intake. Here is how high-carbohydrate diet plans treat carbohydrates. (Such as Ornish, Pritikin, and Food for Life)

For years you've been hearing that eating a healthy diet. Means cutting back on total amount of fat. While eating more complex carbohydrates. Thousands of "low-fat" alternatives now crowd your supermarket shelves.

But is simply cutting back on fat. Then loading up on carbohydrates a healthy way to eat or to lose weight? Current research suggests that it isn't. Just like researchers have learned that not all types of fat are bad. They have also discovered that not all types of carbohydrates are good for you.

It's easy for you to fall into a low-fat trap. Gram for gram. Fat has more than twice as many calories as either protein or carbohydrates. Then it seems logical that choosing low-fat products will help you with your weight loss. However, all too often low-fat products on supermarket shelves are packed with sugar. And highly processed carbohydrates. Making up for taste that's lost when fat is removed.

These low-fat alternatives often contain just as many calories as full-fat versions. Some may even have more! Another problem is that you mistakenly think that because a food is low in fat. You can eat as much of it as you want without gaining any weight.

Following healthy habits can statistically increase your lifespan by up to 11 years! That's a lot of extra time to get to live, and you can add it to your life by following a few simple habits:

1. Never skip your breakfast. Breakfast is most important meal of day. Still, many of us skip it thinking that it will help us shed pounds. When you skip breakfast your blood sugar levels, as well as other nutrient levels drop, depriving you of required nutrition and energy for rest of day. Breakfast eaters have a more positive attitude toward school and work, and they perform better. 2. Bite into something good. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Fruits are cool and juicy, so they get you water you need to stay hydrated and they also provide vitamins and nutrients that fat-free snack foods don't. They're good and they taste sweet - and some contain antioxidants that help prevent aging.

3. Eat regular meals. Skipping meals can lead to out-of-control hunger, often resulting in overeating. When you're very hungry, it's also tempting to forget about good nutrition. Snacking between meals can help curb hunger, but don't eat so much that your snack becomes an entire meal.