{"id":3780,"date":"2013-09-02T06:41:20","date_gmt":"2013-09-02T10:41:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bodynsoil.com\/blog\/?p=3780"},"modified":"2023-06-07T15:03:30","modified_gmt":"2023-06-07T19:03:30","slug":"nutrition-series-simple-vs-complex-carbohydrates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bodynsoil.com\/blog\/2013\/09\/nutrition-series-simple-vs-complex-carbohydrates\/","title":{"rendered":"Nutrition Series: Simple vs. Complex Carbohydrates"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Nutrition Series: Simple vs. Complex Carbohydrates<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">There is a lot confusion regarding the term: simple and complex carbohydrates. How do you know which is which as the terms aren&#8217;t indicative how <a href=\"http:\/\/www.health.harvard.edu\/healthy-eating\/glycemic_index_and_glycemic_load_for_100_foods\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">quickly they are digested, metabolized, and absorbed<\/a> or even the nutritional value of carbohydrates.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_8545\" style=\"width: 479px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bodynsoil.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/cool-complex-carbohydrates-wheat-bread.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8545\" data-attachment-id=\"8545\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/bodynsoil.com\/blog\/2013\/09\/nutrition-series-simple-vs-complex-carbohydrates\/cool-complex-carbohydrates-wheat-bread\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bodynsoil.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/cool-complex-carbohydrates-wheat-bread.jpg?fit=540%2C723&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"540,723\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"cool-complex-carbohydrates-wheat-bread\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;complex carbohydrates&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;complex carbohydrates&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bodynsoil.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/cool-complex-carbohydrates-wheat-bread.jpg?fit=224%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bodynsoil.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/cool-complex-carbohydrates-wheat-bread.jpg?fit=373%2C500&amp;ssl=1\" class=\" wp-image-8545\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bodynsoil.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/cool-complex-carbohydrates-wheat-bread.jpg?resize=469%2C628&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"complex carbohydrates\" width=\"469\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bodynsoil.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/cool-complex-carbohydrates-wheat-bread.jpg?w=540&amp;ssl=1 540w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bodynsoil.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/cool-complex-carbohydrates-wheat-bread.jpg?resize=224%2C300&amp;ssl=1 224w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bodynsoil.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/cool-complex-carbohydrates-wheat-bread.jpg?resize=149%2C200&amp;ssl=1 149w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bodynsoil.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/cool-complex-carbohydrates-wheat-bread.jpg?resize=300%2C402&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 469px) 100vw, 469px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-8545\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">complex carbohydrates<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The confusion lies in how the same number of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms, connected differently, are arranged to create the three main players: monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">This image, from Precision Nutrition, gives a simple outline of the connectivity of the different arrangements of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 442px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.precisionnutrition.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/1feb23.gif?resize=432%2C294\" alt=\"molecular makeup of carbohydrates via Preciaion Nutrition\" width=\"432\" height=\"294\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Makeup of carbohydrates via: PrecisionNutrition.com<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a title=\"Wikipedia Monosaccharides\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Monosaccharide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Monosaccharides<\/a> <\/span>which are single, or simple, sugars, have one sugar group.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Three main single monosaccharides, or single sugars, are<\/span><\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Galactose<\/strong> Source: Dairy<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Glucose<\/strong> Source: Fruits, vegetables, pasta, grains, flour, bread, rice, table sugar or anything starchy)<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Fructose<\/strong> Source: Fruit sugar, sugar additives; very sweet<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Oligosaccharide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oligosaccharides<\/a><\/span> are short chains of monosaccharides, linked together; some can be simple, while others complex.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px;\">Two linked monosaccharides are disaccharides, three linked monosaccharides are trisaccharides, and so on.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Common Oligosaccharides<\/span><\/strong> are two sugar combinations: also called disaccharides:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Sucrose<\/strong>: (Glucose+Fructose) This is commonly referred to as table sugar, cane sugar, brown sugar, high fructose corn syrup, molasses, maple syrup and added to many foods.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lactose<\/strong>: (Glucose+Galactose) Milk and dairy have a carbohydrates called lactose, when people lack the enzyme to break these two sugars apart they are considered lactose intolerant.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Maltose<\/strong>: (Glucose+Glucose) This isn&#8217;t a common sugar; can be found in malted beer, sprouted grains and also barley malt sweetener.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Polysaccharide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Polysaccharides<\/a><\/span> are long (complex chains of 10+) linked monosaccharides; straight or branched; forming a polymer. These long chains of polysaccharides can be found in: breads, cereals pasta grains like rice and oats. Vegetables like: corn, peas and potatoes are starchy complex sugars.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Common polysaccharides:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Starch <\/strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Source: Plant Cells<\/span>: Amylose (linear) and amylopectin (highly branched) are two main forms<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Glycogen <\/strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Source: Animal Cells<\/span>: made from glucose monosaccharides during glycogenesis<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Fiber <\/strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Source: Plant Cells<\/span>:\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\">Soluble: Dissolves in water; forms a gel like substance in intestinal tract<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: left;\">Insoluble: <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Indigestable<\/span>; Does not dissolve in water; resistant to human enzymatic activity; converted to short chain fatty acids.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">*foods resistant to stomach acid and digestive enzymes, while remaining mostly intact, are also known to cause gas.\u00a0 Foods like: beans, garlic, leeks, onions, rye, asparagus, barley and Jerusalem artichokes can make you uncomfortable and gassy.<\/p>\n<p>It is reported that eating high fiber foods more often, helps your body to produce more enzymes, which in turn assist with digestion thereby causing less gas.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Digestion of foods can be seen in this excellent animation from WHfoods.com<\/p>\n<p>Click to start the animation. Run your mouse over the parts of the digestive track to see what they do.<br \/>\n<object width=\"480\" height=\"436\" classid=\"clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http:\/\/download.macromedia.com\/pub\/shockwave\/cabs\/flash\/swflash.cab#version=5,0,0,0\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http:\/\/www.whfoods.com\/digestion.swf\" \/><param name=\"quality\" value=\"best\" \/><param name=\"scale\" value=\"noborder\" \/><param name=\"salign\" value=\"LT\" \/><param name=\"bgcolor\" value=\"#FFFFFF\" \/><\/object><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nutrition Series: Simple vs. Complex Carbohydrates There is a lot confusion regarding the term: simple and complex carbohydrates. How do you know which is which as the terms aren&#8217;t indicative how quickly they are digested,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":8498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[960,418,860,959,962,961,745],"class_list":["post-3780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nutrition","tag-basics","tag-carbohydrates","tag-complex","tag-digestion","tag-fiber","tag-saccharides","tag-simple"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bodynsoil.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/understandingcarbs-365x285.jpg?fit=365%2C234&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1qEFP-YY","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3752,"url":"https:\/\/bodynsoil.com\/blog\/2011\/09\/nutrition-series-carbohydrates-for-energy\/","url_meta":{"origin":3780,"position":0},"title":"Nutrition Series: Carbohydrate Energy","author":"Bodynsoil","date":"September 7, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Nutrition Series: Carbohydrate Energy Of all three macro-nutrients: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats; carbohydrates are the most misunderstood, and easily confused. \u00a0 via: Choose my plate There are many reasons for the confusion, just comparing: The Government's\u00a0 ChooseMyplate lists: fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, dairy, and oils; to Known macro nutrients: Carbohydrates,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Learning&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Learning","link":"https:\/\/bodynsoil.com\/blog\/category\/learning\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Choose my plate carbohydrate energy","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bodynsoil.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/choosemyplate-1024x407.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1520,"url":"https:\/\/bodynsoil.com\/blog\/2009\/08\/pre-and-post-workout-nutrition-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":3780,"position":1},"title":"Pre and Post Workout Nutrition","author":"Bodynsoil","date":"August 26, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Pre\/Post Workout Nutrition Right out of the box we'll talk about \"When you hit the gym, the body releases a fat-liberating messenger called epinephrine, which attaches itself to fat cells and allows fat to be burned as fuel. And you guessed it, carbohydrates come into play here. Refined carbs (such\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Nutrition&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Nutrition","link":"https:\/\/bodynsoil.com\/blog\/category\/body\/nutrition\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3731,"url":"https:\/\/bodynsoil.com\/blog\/2011\/09\/nutrition-series-the-basics\/","url_meta":{"origin":3780,"position":2},"title":"The Basics of Nutrition","author":"Bodynsoil","date":"September 2, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Explaining basic terminology for Carbohydrates, Proteins, and Fats with links to further resources relating to nutrition..","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Nutrition&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Nutrition","link":"https:\/\/bodynsoil.com\/blog\/category\/body\/nutrition\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"abs and nutrition","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com\/736x\/3e\/c9\/bd\/3ec9bd2441962b5e2d8410c87a97cecb.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3906,"url":"https:\/\/bodynsoil.com\/blog\/2011\/11\/nutrition-series-proteins\/","url_meta":{"origin":3780,"position":3},"title":"Nutrition Series: All you need to know about Proteins","author":"Bodynsoil","date":"November 8, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"People involved in health and fitness are familiar with nutrition and proteins and all that they do. 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