Carbohydrates serve as an essential energy source, but processed versions can lead to inflammation and weight gain. Understanding the difference between complex carbs like oatmeal and simple sugars is key to metabolic health.
Nutrition labels list the volume of carbohydrates, fat, and protein in a food, rather than the calories derived from these nutrients. In order to ascertain how many calories come from carbohydrates, you need to know the calories per gram of carbs.
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Have you ever let a cracker sit in your mouth without chewing it and noticed a sweet flavor building on your tongue? That taste is the result of an enzyme trying to break down the cracker.
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You can lose weight by eliminating carbs for 14 days, but there’s no guarantee you’ll drop any pounds if you don’t watch calories. Carbs account for half or more of total daily calories for most people.
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There are many types of wine, including reds and whites. Within each type exist many varieties, such as the Merlot and Cabernet reds and the Riesling and Chardonnay whites.
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With a big sporting event or mammoth training session on the horizon, you may be worried about sustaining your energy levels and maintaining performance. Fear not -- with a concept known as carb loading, you can manipulate your nutrition to ensure that you're feeling and performing your best come the big day.
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Eating vegetable soup is a great way to get your daily veggies, but to keep it low in carbs, don’t randomly grab any old can of soup off the shelf. Commercially prepared soups have more carbs than a homemade soup made with fresh vegetables. Don’t worry though, a basic vegetable soup is quick and simple to make.
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Yams are a type of dry, starchy root vegetable, or "tuber," similar to the potato. Like many root vegetables, yams have a high carbohydrate count -- between 22 and 42 grams per serving, depending on yam type. In general, yams have more carbohydrates per serving than either red, white, russet or sweet potatoes.
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A meal containing mainly complex carbohydrates is likely to give you more energy and leave you feeling fuller than a meal containing mainly simple carbohydrates, according to a study published in the "International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders" in June 2003.
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If you reflexively order a large popcorn whenever you head to the movies, a low-carb diet might throw off your routine. Popcorn contains carbohydrates and could negatively affect your count for the day.
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A hard, dense wheat with a high protein content, durum wheat is the variety most often used to make pasta, from spaghetti to ziti. After milling, the endosperm is ground into semolina, which is mixed with water to make pasta dough. Durum wheat is also used to make the grain-like pasta called couscous.
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Grapefruit is a common fruit grown primarily in warm-weather and tropical locations such as Florida, California and Mexico. But the fruit is shipped and consumed throughout the United States and is often available year-round.
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When you're on a low-carb diet, you're generally limited to 20 to 150 grams per day of net carbs -- total carbs minus fiber. Pasta, which has 30 grams of net carbs per cup, is usually off the menu.
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Refined foods are processed foods that lack many of the nutrients they once had. They generally add a lot of calories to your diet, when compared to the amount of nutrients they contribute. The refining process refers specifically to carbohydrates such as grains and sugars.
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Carbohydrates, along with fats and proteins, make up one of the main categories of food. Providing the body with energy, especially the brain, is the primary function of carbohydrates, notes Medline Plus.
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When you're trying to pack on the pounds, the trick is to eat high-calorie, nutrient-dense foods. Adding about 500 calories to your regular diet each day can help you put on about 1 pound a week. Combine that with strength-training exercise to make sure you're putting on weight in the form of muscle, not fat.
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There are three major types of carbohydrates -- starch, sugar and fiber. Starch is a complex carbohydrate, made up of a series of simple sugar molecules linked together. Significant amounts of starch can be found in a variety of plant foods.
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The glycemic index is a measure of how different carbohydrate foods affect your blood sugar levels. Food receives a score of zero to 100, depending on how quickly blood sugar rises after you eat it; the faster the rise, the higher the GI score.
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One medium carrot has about 6 grams of carbohydrates. One-half cup of baby carrots -- the amount the American Diabetes Association suggests for a midday snack -- also contains about 6 grams of carbs. Because carrots have so much fiber, they affect metabolism differently than other carbs.
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Your diet is made up two kinds of sugar: those naturally found in foods and those that are added to your foods. Some foods like dairy products or fruits contain naturally occurring sugars, while almost all processed foods contain some sort of added sugar.
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The natural sugars you get from eating an orange are the same type as granulated sugar, but you don't have to worry as much about their impact on your health.
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