Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are essential for the proper functioning of your body. Learn which foods provide the best source of carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates should be mainly complex

Your main source of carbohydrates should come from complex carbohydrates, these entail foods like vegetables, fruits, and grains and not the simpler form of carbohydrates generally found in sugars. Along with complex carbohydrates comes more fiber, minerals, and vitamins than found in foods that are high in refined sugars. Complex carbohydrates also have the added advantage of being lower in calories, cholesterol, and saturated fat. The American Heart Association recommends that our fat intake does not exceed more than 30% and that we should have about 25-30 grams of fiber each day, and good carbohydrates or complex carbohydrates are the best source for this fiber.

So then the question for many is what foods are best at providing all of the necessary vitamins and minerals, without added fat and calories. There are a lot of options in the grocery store to choose from. And with more and more availability of all kinds of fruits and vegetables all year round, there can also be a lot of variety in your diet even if you are concentrating on foods that have low carbohydrates. We should all be eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetable a day and about six servings of grains and cereals.

Here are some of the simple carbohydrate foods:

Glucose- Dextrose, glucose syrup, corn syrup
Sucrose- table sugar, confectioners sugar, brown sugar, turbinado (raw sugar)
Fructose- fruits, vegetables, honey
High fructose corn syrup- liquid sweetener (containing 42-90% fructose)
Sugar alcohols- mannitol, sorbitol, xybitol
Lactose- milk and milk products
Maltose, Dextrose- cereals and baked goods

These are some of the foods that are a good source of complex carbs:

Fiber- insoluble: whole wheat breads, wheat bran, cereals, cabbage, carrots, beets, carrots, brussel sprouts, cauliflower
Starches- flour, bread, rice, corn, barley, oats, potatoes, legumes, fruits, and vegetables.
Fiber- soluble: oat bran, oats, legumes, strawberries, psyllium, rice bran, barley