How many carbs should I eat per day?

Question: How many carbs should I eat per day?

Answer: The most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggest that about half of your daily calories come from carbohydrates. A person who eats approximately 2,000 calories per day should take in about about 250 grams of carbohydrates.

While keeping track of the amount of carbohydrates you need every day is important, choosing the right carbohydrate-rich foods is equally important. Your carbohydrates should come from whole grain bread, cereals and pastas, nuts, seeds, legumes, fruits and vegetables.

Avoid unhealthy carbohydrate-rich foods, such as sugary snacks, pastries, sugar-sweetened soft drinks, candy, cookies, greasy chips and most processed, packaged snack foods. These foods contain too many calories while offering little or no nutritional value. Some of these foods also contain saturated and trans-fats that are bad for your heart.

Tips for Tracking Your Carbohydrates

• find the carbohydrate grams on the nutrition facts labels on packaged foods
• use the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference to calculate carbohydrate amounts of fresh foods
• use a food diary to keep track of your information
• make it very easy and join Calorie Count Plus to track calories, carbs and find suggestions for a healthy diet

Source:

U.S. Department of Agriculture. "Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005." U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Published January 2005.