What Are Carbohydrates?

"Carbohydrates" are referred to all the time in reference to diet and nutrition, but if you don't know what carbohydrates are all these references aren't doing you much good.

What are carbohydrates?

The National Academies Institute of Medicine recommends that 45% to 65% of your daily diet come from carbohydrates. So, what are carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates are composed of simple and complex sugars, starches, and fiber in fruits and vegetables. There are two types of carbs: simple and complex.

Simple carbs

Simple carbohydrates are sugars. There are several different kinds of simple sugars. Fructose is the sugar found in fruits. Lactose is the sugar that is in milk, and sucrose is granulated table sugar. As you may have guessed, simple carbs taste sweet. They are easy to digest, and this means that they can cause a rapid rise in blood sugar (glucose) levels. These foods should be eaten in moderation in order to avoid a spike in blood glucose.

Fruit has fiber which counterbalances blood glucose to some degree. It is better to eat fruit whole so that you benefit from the fiber, rather than taking your fruit in juice form which more quickly floods the bloodstream with sugar.

Other simple carbohydrates include starches, like white bread, white rice, and white pasta. These foods have been highly refined. The fiber-rich bran and germ have been removed from processed grains, what remains is not as nutritious as whole grain bread, long grain rice, or whole wheat pasta. Starchy foods are digested quickly and easily like sugar. They can also cause a sudden rise in blood sugar.

Complex carbs

Complex carbs, rich in fiber, are digested and absorbed more slowly into the bloodstream. Complex carbs include foods like whole-grain bread, brown rice, cooked dried beans, and vegetables. These foods contain more healthy nutrients, like vitamins and minerals and other nutrients. Because they do not flood into the bloodstream these foods are less likely to cause an increase in glucose.

Some fiber-rich carbohydrates include oatmeal, oat bran, citrus fruits, apples, pears, prunes, legumes, peas, and other vegetables.

Sources:

Good Carbs, Bad Carbs: Why Carbohydrates Matter to You, Webmd
Carbohydrates - The Bottom Line, Harvard School of Public Health
What Are Carbohydrates, Harvard School of Public Health