Carbohydrates Found In Grains, Fruits & Vegetables

Carbohydrates are the main sources of fuel for your body's cells. They sustain energy production in your nervous and muscular system, initiate fat metabolism, and spare proteins in your body from being used for energy. You can find different types of carbohydrates in grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables, which are the best sources of this macronutrient. The World Health Organization recommends that your diet should consist between 55 to 75% carbohydrates. Ninety percent of the carbohydrates should be from complex carbohydrates, such as starch and fiber.

Simple Sugars

Simple sugars or carbohydrates -- also called monosaccharides -- are single sugar molecules that are made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms. You can find these sugars in all grains, vegetables and fruits, although the amount varies among different types of foods. Most fruits and refined breads and cereals contain mostly simple sugars, while stalk or starchy vegetables contain mostly complex carbohydrates, such as fiber and starch. Simple sugars are very easy to digest and do provide much satiety. Former nutrition professor Gordon Wardlaw recommends that you limit your simple sugar intake to no more than 15 percent of your daily carbohydrate intake. You body converts excess carbohydrates -- simple or complex -- into fat for storage in your fat tissues or liver.

Complex Carbohydrates

Complex carbohydrates consist of more than one sugar molecule bound together by strong carbon bonds. Starch -- also called polysaccharides -- is a type of complex carbohydrate that is made up a huge network of sugar molecules. You body expends energy breaking apart the carbon bonds during digestion and does not absorb sugars as quickly as simple carbohydrates. You can find complex carbohydrates in starchy vegetables and grains, such as potatoes, yams, beans, lentils, whole-grain cereals, peas and corn.

Dietary Fiber

Your body cannot digest dietary fiber and use it for energy because you lack the digestive enzymes to break the tough carbon bonds. It passes through your digestive system with very little or no change. The Mayo Clinic recommends that you consume between 25 to 30 grams of dietary fiber daily to maintain general health.

Soluble fiber dissolves in water and is found mostly in fleshy parts of fruits and some vegetables, such as citrus fruits, apples, peas and potatoes. It becomes a gel-like substance in your intestines that slows glucose and cholesterol absorption. Insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water and creates bulk in your feces, which helps prevent constipation and irregular bowel movements. You can find this type of fiber in oats, whole-grain breads, pastas and rice, stalk and stem vegetables, bran, nuts and seeds.