Between 45 and 65 percent of your daily calories should come from carbohydrates. For many, however, this might seem like too much. For example, the South Beach Diet advises followers not to exceed 28 percent per day in its final "maintenance" phase. Some foods are extremely high in carbs and eating them will easily put you over this amount. Other foods have no carbohydrates at all. You may also use carb counting if you're diabetic.
Protein Sources
Protein sources have the lowest carbohydrate count. Beef, pork, lamb, chicken, turkey and fish, excluding shellfish, all have zero carbohydrates. Oils also have zero carbs. Organ meats, however, usually have some trace of carbs. For example, a single chicken liver has 1.7 g. A 3-oz. serving of lobster meat has 1 g and an egg has 0.2 g.
Vegetables
Some vegetables have virtually no carbs; starchy and sweet vegetables can have much more. One leaf of butterhead lettuce has less than 0.2 g, but 1 cup of sweet red peppers has almost 9 g. A baked potato has almost 43 g. Generally, leafy green vegetables are lowest in carbohydrates, along with broccoli and cauliflower. Broccoli has only 2 g of carbohydrates in 1 cup and cauliflower has 5.3 g in 1 cup.
Dairy
Most dairy products are reasonably low in carbohydrates, particularly cheeses. Cheddar has 0.5 g per 1-oz. serving and mozzarella has 0.6 g for the same serving size. Yogurt and milk products are slightly more. An 8-oz. serving of low-fat yogurt has 17.4 g, and 1 cup of low-fat milk has slightly more than 12 g. Butter has 0.1 g of carbohydrates in 1 tbsp.
Fruits
Fruits tend to be high in fructose, so they usually have more carbohydrates than vegetables. A banana has more than 34 g of carbs, blueberries have about 21 g in 1 cup and strawberries have almost 13 g per cup. Raisins have almost 115 g in 1 cup.
Grains
Grains tend to be high in carbohydrate content, but they're usually complex carbs, healthier than the simple carbs from sugar. A cup of white rice has more than 148 g of carbohydrates, but 1 cup of wild rice has only 35 g. A single slice of white or wheat bread has more than 12 g of carbs; a slice of rye bread has more than 15 g. One cup of puffed wheat cereal has less than 10 g of carbs, but 1 cup of puffed rice cereal has more than 12 g.
Sweets
Sugar products have the highest concentration of carbohydrates. If you indulge in a single 2-oz. Snickers bar, you'll take in 34.5 g of carbohydrates. A package of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups is somewhat less, just under 25 g. An average slice of chocolate cake adds more than 50 g to your daily carbohydrate intake. A 12-oz. can of Sprite has 37.2 g and a 12-oz. can of cola has 35.3 g.
Tips
Processed foods generally have more carbohydrates than whole, natural foods because manufacturers add starch and sugar. If you're craving a potato, bake or fry one yourself rather than purchase a pre-made product. Your body needs some carbs every day for healthy functioning, so even if you don't consume as many as 65 percent of your daily diet, get some from vegetables, fruits and grains.
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