Confused Day Tuesday: Simple Vs. Complex Carbohydrates

I found this picture several months ago, but couldn't figure out the source.  I really wanted to know who created this because I wanted to get a better image to post on my blog!  This is a perfect example of how the terms "simple" and "complex" can easily be misinterpreted.  Basically this photo is saying that Complex Carbohydrates and GOOD and Simple Carbohydrates are BAD.  Here is a review;

Simple Carbohydrates:  Made up of one (ex: fructose) or two sugars (ex: lactose), and are therefore absorbed much faster, and in theory they may raise your blood sugar faster (think about what a diabetic will do if he/she has low blood sugar, they will drink juice!  Why? Because juice is made up of simple carbohydrates that will raise blood sugar fast)

Complex Carbohydrates:  Made up of three of more sugars (Ex: Starches and fiber), and are therefore absorbed much slower, and in theory they may raise your blood sugar slower.

By giving simple carbohydrates the name "BAD", do you realize you would be saying that milk, fruit, and vegetables are bad?  Think about it.

Source: iStockPhoto

 Yogurt is mostly simple carbohydrates (ie: lactose and fructose when fruit is added), and the berries you might add on top are also simple carbohydrates (ie: fructose).  Would this be considered a bad choice?  No way!  Granted, I would choose plain yogurt because most companies add sugar (in the form of more fructose or even sucrose) to their flavored yogurts, but still, you get the point.  Yogurt and berries are made of all simple carbohydrates.  Yogurt and berries are not a bad food.

Source: iStockPhoto

And what about this delicious meal?  The broccoli is made of simple carbohydrates, the mango is made of simple carbohydrates, the brown rice.....is made of complex carbohydrates.  If you call all simple carbs "Bad" and all complex carbs "Good", that might denote that the only good part of the meal above is the brown rice.  Not true!

Source: iStockPhoto

And what about pancakes?  They are complex carbohydrates (starches) so does that mean this meal above is "Good"?  Not necessarily.  Take about 8 of those pancakes, add some simple carbohydrates in the form of fruit, and possibly add some protein in the form of nuts, and then it's much better. Or better yet, made these pancakes from a better form of complex carbohydrates; whole wheat (or other grain) flour!  

Simple carbs are not bad, unless you eat too many (remember this post about my thoughts on the new Weight Watchers system?).  The average person should not consume more than 3 servings of dairy (ie: lactose-containing foods) and 1-2 cups of fruit (ie: fructose-containing foods) and 2-3 cups of non-starchy vegetables (ie: fructose and other simple-carbohydrate-containing foods) per day.  There is also a limit for complex carbohydrates, because with any type of carbohydrate you can get too much!  Now once you start talking about simple carbohydrates in the form of candies, jams, and syrups (ie: simple carbohydrates found in foods with zero nutritional benefits) then clearly it's not quite as good.

Bottom Line:  Simple carbohydrates are not all bad. Simple carbohydrates, by themselves (ie: a spoonful of sugar!) are obviously not good, but when you find these in foods that contain nutrients and/or fiber, they are much, much better!  Complex carbohydrates are not all good.  White bread isn't a great choice, but it's a better choice if you make it whole, which means it contains more fiber and nutrients.

You should eat non-starchy vegetables, and fruits.

You should use milk (or choose alternatives like soy, almond, etc.) on your cereal if you want!  And heck, add berries too.

You should choose complex carbohydrates that also have a lot of fiber, such as beans, instead of starch white breads with little fiber.

And stop using the words "good" and "bad".  Got it?!  If you want to find out how many servings of fruits, vegetables, dairy (or dairy alternatives), protein, grains you need, check out ChooseMyPlate.Gov.  Now, what questions do you have for me???

Thanks for reading!

The Candid Rd

NOTE: I love comments!  But, be sure to come back to read any replies to questions or comments, as they do not go directly to your e-mail.

Sugar By Any Other Name.....

Have you ever wondered why your plain yogurt contains 10 grams of sugar? Or whether the "fruit juice concentrate" in your power bar is a better form of sugar than table sugar (sucrose)? These are questions I receive quite often, so it's time for a quick review.

Carbohydrates (Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen bound together) come in two forms:

• Simple mono- or disaccharides (glucose, fructose, galactose, maltose, sucrose, and lactose)
• Complex polysaccharides (starches such as legumes, corn, potatoes, bread, and cereals)

• Fiber? On food labels, fiber is considered a carbohydrate. This is because fiber is a type of polysaccharide, which plays a structural role in plants. Humans cannot digest fiber.

When you look at a food label, this is what you see:

The cereal above has 24 total grams of carbohydrate, 2 grams of which is from indigestible dietary fiber, and 10 grams of which is from simple sugar (one of the six I mentioned above).

When you look at a label for milk or plain yogurt, you may see this:

Strange? You wouldn't think milk or plain yogurt would have any sugar, but lactose (a type of simple sugar) is found in all dairy products. On the food label it is considered a carbohydrate, and is under the sub-category "sugar". In my opinion, there should be an alternative sub-category called "Added Sugar". Would you know that the plain yogurt above has zero added sugar? Many of you may have know that, but some may have not. In fact, the typical amount of lactose found in dairy products is about 12 grams per serving.

What about this "Just Fruit Bar"?


Check out the ingredients. Pear Puree, Pear Concentrate, Cranberry Concentrate.

According to the nutrition facts, this one bar has 35 grams of carbohydrate, 6 grams of which are from fiber (nice!), and 23 grams of which are from sugar. In this case, the sugar is in the form of fructose. Is it any more healthy since it's in the form of the "fruit sugar, fructose"? Not really.


Yes this is a less processed form of fructose than HFCS, but if you were to eat a serving of fruit, which is what this bar is trying to mimic, you would only be consuming about 15 grams of fructose, not 23. You'd also be getting a lot of phytonutrients, which do not survive the heat it takes to create a "fruit juice concentrate".



Bottom Line: Carbohydrates are best in their most natural form; whole fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and dairy products. Limit your added sugars (from the extra sugar companies add to their products, other than the naturally occurring lactose and fructose) to 26 grams for females, and 37 for males.

Speaking of sugar, Julie is having a VitaTops giveaway!! Yeah, they have sugar, but less than most muffins, that's for sure.

Coming Up

Tomorrow I will post a new recipe and my thoughts on Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution form Friday. Did you watch?! I also have an interesting post about Kashi, and whole grains coming up this week.

Thanks for reading! Have a great day.