Types of Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are in most of the foods that you eat. However, they vary in their molecular make-up and in how your body reacts to them. Broadly speaking, carbohydrates fall into three categories:
  • Sugars. The word "sugar" may make you think of the white granules you spoon into coffee or add to baked goods, but the sweet stuff comes in many varieties. Made up of relatively simple combinations of molecules, the sugars include sucrose (found in table sugar and some fruits and vegetables), fructose (found in fruit and honey), and lactose (found in milk), among others.
  • Starches. Although they consist of sugar units, the complex structure of starches makes them a distinct type of carbohydrate. (In fact, nutritionists used to call starches "complex carbohydrates," though the term has fallen out of favor with many of them.) The large size of starch molecules also sets them apart from sugars; they're too big for taste bud receptors on the tongue, which is why starches usually don't taste sweet. Starchy foods include potatoes, bread, pasta, and rice.
  • Fiber. Your grandma called it "roughage." Your gut calls it "indigestible." Like starch, fiber is made up of an intricate array of sugar molecules. But the sugar molecules in fiber aren't absorbed into the bloodstream as fiber passes through the gastrointestinal tract; that's because the body lacks enzymes to break it down. But even though fiber isn't a nutrient, per se, it does plenty of good, as you'll read later. Only plant foods naturally contain fiber; some rich sources include wheat bran and oat bran.

Breads and Veggies
Your body reacts to the different types of carbohydrates in different ways.

Knowing the different types of carbohydrates will help diabetes patients determine how to manage their diets. The next section of this article explains how to count carbohydrates and suggests some tools you can use to get accurate measurements of the different types of carbohydrates.

For more information on diabetes, diet, and related topics, try the following links:
  • For more information about how diet affects diabetes, see our Diabetic Diet page.
  • To learn how exercise relates to diet when you have diabetes, see our Diabetes and Exercise page.
  • For more information on diabetes in general, whether you want to learn about type 1 or type 2, visit the main Diabetes page.
  • To learn about how to take care of yourself when you have diabetes, visit our main Diabetes Treatment page.
This information is solely for informational purposes. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. Neither the Editors of Consumer Guide (R), Publications International, Ltd., the author nor publisher take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of medication which results from reading or following the information contained in this information. The publication of this information does not constitute the practice of medicine, and this information does not replace the advice of your physician or other health care provider. Before undertaking any course of treatment, the reader must seek the advice of their physician or other health care provider.