Can Cutting Refined Carbs Help You Lose Weight and Get Healthier?

If you’re trying to lose weight or clean up your diet, you may be cutting back on refined (processed) carbs, a category that includes both ingredients, like white flour and white sugar, and ready-to-eat foods like supermarket snack cakes.

But what are refined carbohydrates, exactly, and can avoiding them help you lose weight and improve your health?

Keep reading to find out what counts as a refined carb, how refined carbs influence weight and metabolism, and how to make realistic, healthy swaps that stick.

Refined carbohydrates include both refined grains (white flour, white rice) and refined sugars (white sugar, high-fructose corn syrup). They comprise much of the Americans diet excluding whole foods like fruits, vegetables, meat, or seafood.

Food manufacturers produce refined carbs by stripping away certain nutrients.

Refined Grains

The process of refining a grain differs depending on the grain.

Refining wheat, for instance, requires removing the bran, a hard outer layer that’s rich in fiber, essential vitamins and minerals, and phytochemicals (nonessential nutrients that provide antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits), says Elisabetta Politi, CDCES, MPH, RD, a certified diabetes educator and dietitian at Duke Health in Durham, North Carolina.

Manufacturers often add some of these nutrients back and label the refined-grain products as “enriched.” On a food label, this can look like:

• All-Purpose White Flour Enriched Bleached Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid)

  [3]

• Enriched Long Grain White Rice Long Grain Rice, Ferric Phosphate, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, and Folic Acid

  [4]

Refined Sugars

Manufacturers create refined sugars through a variety of methods.

Refined carbs can be found in your kitchen pantry and throughout the grocery store. They include the blueberry muffins you bake at home with white flour and white sugar as well as the ultra-processed shelf-stable blueberry muffins at your supermarket.

If you grew up in the United States, chances are that many of your favorite childhood snacks or “comfort foods” are full of refined carbs.

• White bread, rolls, and bagels
• White rice
• Chips and crackers made with refined or enriched flour
• Pasta
• Breakfast cereals
• Pastries, cookies, cakes, doughnuts
• Sugar-sweetened sodas

Refined carbs lack the nutritional value of whole foods. The body also digests refined carbs more quickly, and they have a higher glycemic index — meaning they are more likely to cause rapid spikes in blood sugar, says Politi.

In contrast, whole grains (which are complex carbohydrates) are rich in fiber and other complex starches that take longer to digest. That means they have a lower glycemic index, and don’t rock your blood sugar, she says.

Researchers have linked refined carbs to the following health conditions.

Obesity

The spikes in blood sugar caused by eating refined carbohydrates can increase hunger, says Andres Ardisson Korat, ScD, a researcher and assistant professor at Tufts School of Medicine in Boston.

Weight gain, especially belly fat, can contribute to other health issues including type 2 diabetes and heart disease, Politi says.

Type 2 Diabetes

By driving weight gain, refined carbs contribute to type 2 diabetes, Politi says.

Heart Disease

Weight gain driven by high consumption of refined carbs is also a driver of heart disease, Politi says.

Depression

It could be that eating more refined carbs negatively impacts mood, or that people who are feeling depressed are more likely to eat refined carbs — or some interplay between them.

At first, yes, says Beril Hezer, RD, a registered dietitian at Banner Health in Phoenix, Arizona. But long-term, it’s more complicated.

“For short-term weight loss, cutting refined carbs can help you lose weight because you’re reducing the number of calories you’re eating,” she says.

Long-term success depends on replacing refined carbs with whole, minimally processed foods and managing overall portion sizes, says Hezer.

“Refined carbohydrates are often low in fiber and protein, which are crucial for feeling full. Replacing refined carbs with fruits, vegetables, and whole grains can help by making you feel fuller, boosting energy levels, and improving metabolic function — all important factors for sustained weight management,” says Hezer.

Hezer recommends the following healthy swaps to people who are trying to cut down on refined carbs.

• Choose brown rice, quinoa, or lentils instead of white rice. This will increase fiber intake and support better digestion and gut health.
• Choose whole-wheat or multigrain bread instead of white. Whole-grain breads retain the fiber- and nutrient-rich bran and germ. (The first ingredient should be “whole flour,” not “enriched flour.”)
• Choose air-popped popcorn instead of chips. Air-popped popcorn contains more fiber than chips and still has that addictive crunch.
• Choose whole-wheat instead of white tortillas. Whole wheat tortillas have more fiber and protein.
• Choose whole-grain muffins instead of pastries. Whole grain muffins are still a baked treat, but they have less sugar and replace white flour with wheat flour.

“People can successfully cut out refined carbs, eat a balanced and sustainable diet, and lose weight,” says Politi. If you find foods you enjoy and don’t feel deprived because you’ve cut out refined carbs, there’s really no downside, she says.

• Cutting back on refined carbohydrates like white bread and white rice and ultra-processed carbs like high-fructose corn syrup can help with short-term weight loss and reduce your risk of chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
• Replace refined carbs with whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes to get more fiber and nutrients, helping you feel fuller longer and stabilizing blood sugar.
• Diets high in refined carbs are linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other metabolic health problems, so moderation is key.
• Make small, sustainable swaps like choosing brown rice over white rice or whole-grain bread instead of white bread to support long-term weight management and overall health.