Carbohydrate Food & Diet Guide

Dietary guidance on carbohydrate consumption varies widely from those who favor low or very low carbohydrate consumption to others who advise making carbohydrates more than half of your caloric intake. To count carbohydrates in meals, you need to know the number of carbs per serving size for each menu item. Eating either a low carbohydrate diet or a diet with higher carbs but lower fat will result in weight loss as long as you consistently follow diet guidelines.

Function

Carbohydrates provide energy as one of three food macronutrients in your diet, the others being fats and protein. Nutrients found in carbohydrate foods, such as fiber in grains and vitamins in fruits and vegetables, provide essential support for overall health. Diet guides offer advice on the best way to combine carbohydrates with other foods so that meals fill your hunger and nutrition needs.

Types

Carbohydrate diet guides may restrict the quantity of carbohydrates as part of a weight loss program, such as the diet guide from Atkins and South Beach. Alternatively, a diet guide may increase carbohydrates while reducing fat and protein. Examples of diet guides that advocate high carbohydrate intake relative to other nutrient types include the Ornish and Weight Watchers diets, both of which recommend higher quantities of complex carbohydrates such as legumes and whole grains than low carbohydrate diets. The USDA's guidance on carbohydrate foods and diet suggest individuals consume 45 to 65 percent of their total calories from carbohydrate foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, milk and milk products.

Identification

You find dietary guidance on carbohydrates in foods -- especially packaged foods -- by reading labels. The nutrition facts label tells you the total carbohydrates in a specified quantity of the food, called the serving size at the top of the label. In addition to total carbohydrates, the label breaks down the carbohydrate guidance in more detail, providing grams of dietary fiber and sugar per serving. For foods not in packages, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, the USDA's "National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference" offers dietary guidance on carbohydrate content for selected serving sizes.

Glycemic Index

Two low carbohydrate guides, South Beach and Atkins, suggest considering the glycemic index value of carbohydrate foods. Carbohydrates classified by their glycemic load consider the effect of the food on blood sugar, with high glycemic foods raising blood sugar quickly. According to Harvard University Public Health Service, offering guidance in an article titled "The Nutrition Source Carbohydrates: Good Carbs Guide the Way," high glycemic foods have an index value above 70 and low glycemic carbohydrates' index values are below 55. The Glycemic Index maintained by the University of Sydney contains approximately 1600 entries.

Net Carbohydrates

Some low carbohydrate diet advocates suggest considering net carbs rather than total carbs in evaluating food choices. Dr. Eric Westman in "The New Atkins for a New You" explains that some carbohydrates such as fiber and sugar alcohol do not increase blood sugar. He contends that you should subtract these types of carbohydrates from the total carbohydrates to get the net carbohydrates of a food. Dieters following Atkins' guidance should use net carbs in building menus.