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Carbohydrate quality is key for a healthy and sustainable diet

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The quality of carbohydrate-rich foods rather than quantity has the strongest effect on major health outcomes. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of prospective studies report lower mortality and reduced incidence of cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes mellitus and colorectal cancer in people who habitually consume diets rich in fibre and whole grain.

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Acknowledgements

The expert linguistic revision of R. Scala is gratefully acknowledged.

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Correspondence to Gabriele Riccardi.

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Competing interests

G.R. is member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition Foundation and of the Health & Wellbeing Advisory Board of Barilla Company.

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Riccardi, G., Costabile, G. Carbohydrate quality is key for a healthy and sustainable diet. Nat Rev Endocrinol 15, 257–258 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-019-0190-x

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