You should get between 45 and 65 percent of your daily calories from carbohydrates, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Choosing the right kinds of carbohydrates, however, is just as important as getting enough of them. Getting most of your carbohydrate intake in the form of complex carbohydrates can improve your health and help prevent disease.
Complex Carbohydrates
Complex carbohydrates contain three or more sugar molecules in a chain, unlike simple sugars that contain one or two. Once consumed, complex carbohydrates are broken down in the body and their molecules are converted into the simple sugar glucose. Glucose powers all cellular activity and is carried through the bloodstream to places in the body where it is needed.
Food Choices
Foods that contain complex carbohydrates are sometimes referred to as starchy foods. Beans, peas, lentils, whole grain breads and cereals, oatmeal, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, potatoes and sweet potatoes all contain complex carbohydrates. Some more unusual sources of complex carbohydrates include quinoa, bulgur, millet and triticale. In general, complex carbohydrates provide fiber, vitamins, minerals and calories in addition to their carbohydrate content.
Health Benefits
The fiber content in complex carbohydrates helps with satiety, the feeling of fullness you get after a meal. Consuming a specific amount of complex carbohydrates will make you feel more full than the same amount of simple sugars, helping you control your weight. Complex carbohydrates also typically cause a lower blood glucose spike than simple sugars, since it takes longer for the body to break them down. This modulating effect on blood sugar levels may help prevent heart disease and diabetes. In addition, by taking longer to digest, complex carbohydrates continue to provide energy to your body for a longer time than simple sugars, giving you more energy overall.
Considerations
Refined carbohydrates contain complex carbohydrates, but they are not as healthy or filling as unrefined carbohydrate foods. During the refining process, most of the fiber and nutrients are removed. Because of the change in composition, these refined carbohydrates act more like simple sugars than like the complex carbohydrates from which they are derived. Refined carbohydrates may raise blood sugar levels even more rapidly than simple sugars. Foods classified as refined carbohydrates include white rice and anything made from white flour, such as bread, cakes and pastries. In many cases, simple sugars are also added to products made using refined carbohydrates.
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