Carbohydrates

Heart Healthy Tips

Not sure what to think about carbohydrates these days? You've come to the right section. Here are the facts to separate the hype from the truth about carbohydrates.

Check out the following topics:

What are carbohydrates?

Your body uses carbohydrates (carbs) to make glucose which is the fuel that gives you energy and helps keep everything going.

Your body can use glucose immediately or store it in your liver and muscles for when it is needed.

You can find carbohydrates in the following:

Healthier foods higher in carbohydrates include ones that provide dietary fiber and whole grains as well as those without added sugars.

What about foods higher in carbohydrates such as sodas and candies that also contain added sugars? Those are the ones that add extra calories but not many nutrients to your diet.

Quick Q& A
I've heard there are "good" carbs and "bad" carbs? Can you provide me more information?
Some diet books use "bad" carbs to talk about foods with refined carbohydrates (i.e., meaning they're made from white flour and added sugars). Examples include white bread, cakes, and cookies. "Good" carbs is used to describe foods that have more fiber and complex carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates are carbohydrates that take longer to break down into glucose. These terms aren't used in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005. Instead, the guidelines recommend choosing fiber-rich carbohydrate choices from the vegetable, fruit, and grain groups and avoid added sugars. It is also recommended that at least half of your daily grain choices are whole grains. To learn more about a meal plan that includes fiber-rich carbohydrates, visit MyPyramid.gov

What are the types of carbohydrates?

There are two main types of carbohydrates:

Complex Carbohydrates

Starch and dietary fiber are the two types of complex carbohydrates.

Starch must be broken down through digestion before your body can use it as a glucose source.

Quite a few foods contain starch and dietary fiber such as breads, cereals, and vegetables:

Dietary Fiber

You may have seen dietary fiber on the label listed as soluble fiber or insoluble fiber.

Soluble fiber is found in the following:

Insoluble fiber found in the following:

Which type is best? Both! Each has important health benefits so eat a variety of these foods to get enough of both. You're also more likely to get other nutrients that you might miss if you just chose 1 or 2 high-fiber foods.

How much dietary fiber do I need each day?
It's recommended that you get 14 grams of dietary fiber for every 1,000 calories that you consume each day. If you need 2,000 calories each day, you should try to include 28 grams of dietary fiber.

To find out how many calories you need each day, visit MyPyramid.gov and enter your age, sex, height, weight, and activity level in the My Pyramid Plan tool. Then refer to the Easy Fiber Estimator to find how many grams you need.

At first, you may find it challenging to eat all of your daily fiber grams. Just take it slowly and try to choose higher-fiber foods more often. Over time, you'll gradually be eating more fiber!

Try these tips to jumpstart your intake of dietary fiber:

Whole Grain "Buzz Words"

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that you try to make at least half of your daily grain choices as whole grains.

You can find out if the food you are eating is made of whole grains by looking at the ingredients list of the food label. The whole grain should be the first ingredient listed. The following are some examples of how whole grains could be listed:

*Popcorn is a whole grain that can have added fat and salt. Try air-popping your popcorn to avoid these extras. If you're buying microwave popcorn, look for a lower-fat variety. You may also want to try the snack size bag to help with portion control.

Grains Galore!

Here are some explanations of less-familiar grains:³

Bulgur. A staple of Middle Eastern dishes. Bulgur wheat consists of kernels that have been steamed, dried, and crushed. It has a tender and chewy texture.

Millet. A staple grain in parts of Africa and Asia. Millet comes in several varieties and has a bland flavor that is a background to other seasonings.

Quinoa. A grain that has been traditionally used in South American cuisine. Its texture has been compared to that of couscous.

Triticale. A grain that is a hybrid of wheat and rye. It comes in several varieties including whole berry, flakes, and flour.

Simple Carbohydrates

Simple carbohydrates include sugars found naturally in foods such as fruits, vegetables milk, and milk products. Simple carbohydrates also include sugars added during food processing and refining.⁴ What's the difference? In general, foods with added sugars have fewer nutrients than foods with naturally-occurring sugars.

How can I avoid added sugars?
One way to avoid these sugars is to read the ingredient lists on food labels.

Look for these ingredients as added sugars:⁵

If you see any of these in the ingredient list, you know the food has added sugars. The closer to the top of the list, the more of that sugar is in the food.

You can learn more about sugars on the food label by visiting How to Understand and Use the Nutrition Facts Label.

Other tips for avoiding added sugars include—

You probably already know sugars and starches can play a role in causing cavities. But it's worth mentioning again, particularly as far as kids are concerned. Be sure to also brush, floss, and drink fluoridated water to help prevent cavities.

How much carbohydrate do I need?

Your best approach is to follow a meal plan that gives you 45% to 65% of the calories as carbohydrates. How do you do this? Check out these two meal plans: MyPyramid.gov or DASH eating plan. Both of these can give you the calories you need and the right amounts of carbohydrate.

MyPyramid.gov lets you enter your age, sex, height, weight, and activity level to get a meal plan specific to your calorie needs.

Sources

¹Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 (pg 14).

²DHHS, A Healthier You, (pg 43).

³Barron's Food Lover's Companion. Copyright © 2001 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc.

⁴U.S. National Library of Medicine & NIH. MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Carbohydrates.

⁵DHHS, A Healthier You, (pg 55).