Four Kinds Of Carbohydrates Including Fiber

A healthy diet emphasizes whole grains, fruits and vegetables, advises the United States Department of Agriculture. These foods all contribute carbohydrates to your diet. Most carbohydrates, excluding fiber, are absorbed into your bloodstream and increase blood glucose, which your body needs to survive. Dietary carbohydrates include soluble and insoluble fiber and simple and complex carbs.

Fiber

Fiber is unlike any other carbohydrate. It is an essential part of your diet and benefits the body in many ways. However, it is not broken down during digestion, nor does your body absorb it. Fiber is in plants, fruits and vegetables. It forms the structural part of plants that support the leaves, stems and seeds. The bonds between the carbohydrate units inside of fiber are so strong that the human body can't break them down. Thus, your body does not digest or absorb them.

Types of Fiber

Two types of fibers exist: soluble and insoluble. Their names reflect their interaction with the fluids inside your body. Soluble fiber absorbs water when inside your digestive system and turns into a jellylike substance. Insoluble fiber does not mix combine with water and passes through your body in almost the same form as you ingest it. Oats are high in soluble fiber. Wheat bran is high in insoluble fiber. Grains, fruits and vegetables contain significant amount of both soluble and insoluble fiber.

Simple Carbs

All of the digestible carbohydrates that you eat are broken down into their simplest form before your body can absorb and use them. However, some carbs you eat are already in their smallest form. Simple carbohydrates consist of one single sugar molecule, also known as a monosaccharide. Your body uses three monosaccharides: glucose, fructose and galactose.

Complex Carbs

Complex carbs occur inside most foods. These are long chains of simple sugars strung together to form polysaccharides. A polysaccharide can consist of three or more saccharide units strung together. The major sources of polysaccharides in your diet come from starch and fiber. Starch is the storage form of carbs in plants that is digestible. Dietary fiber is a polysaccharide, though an indigestible one.