How many carbs do you need per day? That can be a fairly complex question, but the US Department of Health & Human Services recommends that half of your daily calories come from carbohydrates. Therefore, if your daily calorie consumption is around 2,000 calories, then about 1,200 of those should come from carbs.

When considering how many carbs per day to eat, it's important to remember not all carbs are created equal. Nutritionists recommend getting healthy carbohydrates like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and legumes. Unhealthy carbs that you should avoid include sugary soda and processed foods like cookies and potato chips.

Thanks to popular diet plans like the Atkins Diet, many believe that decreasing your carb intake will lead to weight loss. However, experts say this is a short-term solution. Ultimately, a healthy diet should be within your recommended daily intake of calories and include both carbs and protein.

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Carbs are generally regarded as bad when you're trying to lose weight but ok the rest of the time. But new studies are showing that a diet free of or low in carbs may be best for putting the brakes on the spread of prostate cancer. In a study using mice, it was found that mice who had a high-fat, carb-free diet lived longer than those on a traditional western diet that is high in both fat and carbs.

However, it should be noted that high-fat diets have been said to lead to prostate cancer, even though these findings show that it might help speed up treatment. So, in the meantime, I think moderation is key -- don't cut out healthy carbs like whole grains, and don't load up on unhealthy fats either.

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