Carb Commando - Types Of Carbohydrates

Types Of Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are your body's main source of enerfy. If you're about to embark on a low carb diet, you have an education ahead of you. One of the things you're likely to learn about is the difference between good carbohydrates (a.k.a. complex carbohydrates) and bad carbohydrates. We're here to give your education on the different types of carbohydrates a head start.

Different Types of Carbohydrates

There are two different groups of carbohydrates--simple carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates (also known as simple sugars) are found in table sugar and anything that contains it, fruits, milk and dairy products. Complex carbohydrates are found in vegetables, legumes, whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, long grain and wild rice and whole grain cereals. Here are the basic differences between these two types of carbohydrates:

Simple carbohydrates are sugars that are easy to convert to glucose. It doesn't take long for your body to break these sugars down-- they enter the bloodstream within an hour of consumption (hence the term "sugar fix"). You'll be in a better mood and have more energy after eating food with simple sugars, but it's temporary. Soon after the spike, your blood sugar levels will drop, and you might feel lethargic. In addition, simple carbs are more easily turned to fat (specifically, belly fat).
Complex carbohydrates require more energy to break them down than others, thus they are digested at a much slower rate and you will feel full or satisfied longer. Not only that, but you won't experience the swings in blood sugar levels that you do with simple carbohydrates.

Most people on low carb diets try to avoid all types of carbohydrates, but your body needs carbohydrates, so this isn't a good idea. A better idea is to learn about both types of carbohydrates and which foods fit into which category of carbs. Make small changes at first, like switching to whole wheat pasta instead of regular pasta, switching to whole wheat bread instead of white bread, using long grain and wild rice instead of white rice and even using whole wheat flour where appropriate instead of white flour.

Hopefully if you've learned anything at all about the differences in these two types of carbohydrates, it's that complex carbohydrates are much better for you than simple carbohydrates, and simple carbohydrates should be avoided.

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