Attempting to dodge carbs to enhance your diet? It's time to rethink. Cutting-edge research indicates that women who consumed more carbohydrates, particularly those present in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes, significantly conducted themselves into the club of septuagenarians without any chronic maladies, cognitive decline, physical deterioration, or lowered spirits.

However, when we zero in on women known to intake more refined carbs, those party poopers found in white bread, sweet pastries, and processed snacks, the longevity benefits just vanished into thin air “Dr Andres Ardisson Korat, our daring scientist on the front line at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, alongside his ace team decided to undertake this Herculean task - scrutinize the long-term effects of these mighty carbs on your health.

Poring over pages of data obtained from the Nurses’ Health Study, tracking diet and health of 47,000 women right from their vibrant 40s to their vintage nineties. The results, well let’s say only 8 percent of the women proved to be members of the healthy aging club.

Breaking down the findings for you: Women who gulped down more fiber, a variety of carbs and high-quality carbs had an elevated chance- a 6 to 37 percent upswing of charting a healthy aging map, peppered with robust mental and physical health. The flipside, devouring more processed carbs resulted in a 13[percen decrease in chances of healthy aging. Surprise, surprise, a higher glycemic index and carb-to-fiber ratio also corresponded with an extreme plummet in healthy ageing.

Here's the kicker: Healthy carbs assist you to age better! Quality carbs and healthier ageing can possibly be intertwined due to various reasons. Firstly, fiber plays a paramount role in maintaining digestive health and nourishing our gut microbiome. Increasing fiber intake results in lower inflammation markers and hence a marked improvement in aging pathways, according to our esteemed lead scientist Dr Korat. Secondly, whole grains, fruits, and veggies, brimming with antioxidants, are known to combat the harmful effects of inflammation. This results in protection against a variety of diseases, ageing included.

Now here's a fun fact: Carbs, especially the wholesome ones, are your friend, not your foe. Interestingly, the consumption of more carbs was tied with improved ageing, likely sourced from healthy foods, implying these carb lovers perhaps consumed less fat. While fat is indeed a needed dietary component, it's possible that we sometimes overdo it. And, calories from saturated fats, known to hike up the LDL cholesterol levels, can predispose to heart diseases and strokes. So, a bit of carb-friendly diet swapping can indeed direct you to the landmark of healthy ageing.

Are you wondering if these results apply to men and people of color? Our trusted expert, Dr Wood, suggests these findings can be extrapolated to men too. For the question of race and ethnicity, while the study included largely white women, it's plausible that benefits would extend to non-white populations as well, although further studies would strengthen this hypothesis.