Carbohydrates are the persecuted minority of the dieting world. The low-carb, high-protein Atkins diet may not be as popular as it once was, but carbo-bashing is still all the rage. Protein good, bread/potatoes/pasta bad, or so many believe.

Yet new research on the carbohydrate-rich Mediterranean diet shows that, in sensible amounts, carbohydrates can not only help you lose weight, but delay the ageing process.

A study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology revealed that among those on a calorie-restricted diet, even where half of that diet was carbohydrates, the heart aged more slowly. Researchers compared two groups of 25 people. The first followed a diet that closely resembled the Mediterranean diet of whole grains, vegetables, olive oil, beans, fish and fruit. They consumed 1400 to 2000 calories per day. It did not contain processed foods, soft drinks or desserts, and favoured wholegrain bread and pasta over the refined variety. Salt intake was also low. "The average diet was 23% protein, 49% complex carbohydrates, and 28% fat, including 6% saturated fat," said Dr Luigi Fontana of the Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Missouri, who led the study.

Read more about study findings related to carbohydrate diets at http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/54711.html.