Carbohydrates are found in a wide array of both healthy and unhealthy foods—bread, beans, milk, popcorn, potatoes, cookies, spaghetti, soft drinks, corn, and cherry pie. They also come in a variety of forms. The most common and abundant forms are sugars, fibers, and starches.
Here is a list of 12 high-carb foods that also happen to be incredibly healthy.
- Quinoa. Quinoa is a nutritious seed that has become incredibly popular in the natural health community.
- Oats. Oats may be the healthiest whole grain food on the planet.
- Buckwheat.
- Bananas.
- Sweet Potatoes.
- Beetroots.
- Oranges.
- Blueberries.
There are two major types of carbohydrates (or carbs) in foods: simple and complex.
While all carbs break down into glucose, the best carbs for your health are the ones you'll eat in their closest-to-nature state as possible: vegetables, fruit, pulses, legumes, unsweetened dairy products, and 100% whole grains, like brown rice, quinoa, wheat, and oats.
These single sugar molecules contain 6 carbon atoms, 12 hydrogen atoms and 6 oxygen atoms (i.e. chemical formula as C
6H
12O
6).
Simple Carbohydrates (Sugars)
| Monosaccharides | Disaccharides |
|---|
| Glucose | Sucrose (glucose + fructose) |
| Fructose | Lactose (glucose + galactose) |
| Galactose | Maltose (glucose + glucose) |
Carbohydrates are divided into four types: monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides. Monosaccharides consist of a simple sugar; that is, they have the chemical formula C6H12O6.
There are three main types of carbohydrates:
- Sugars. They are also called simple carbohydrates because they are in the most basic form.
- Starches. They are complex carbohydrates, which are made of lots of simple sugars strung together.
- Fiber. It is also a complex carbohydrate.
14 Foods to Avoid (Or Limit) on a Low-Carb Diet
- Bread and grains. Bread is a staple food in many cultures.
- Some fruit. A high intake of fruits and vegetables has consistently been linked to a lower risk of cancer and heart disease ( 5 , 6 , 7 ).
- Starchy vegetables.
- Pasta.
- Cereal.
- Beer.
- Sweetened yogurt.
- Juice.
Berries are a popular choice for people watching their carb intake. Strawberries have the fewest carbs of all types of berries, while blackberries have the fewest net carbs.
Raw carrots contain 9 grams of net carbs per cup (122 grams). Although they're not as high in starch as other root vegetables, they're still higher in carbs than many non-starchy vegetables.
Which Fruits Have the Most Sugar?
- Scroll down to read all. 1 / 13. Mangoes.
- 2 / 13. Grapes. A cup of these has about 23 grams sugar.
- 3 / 13. Cherries. They're sweet, and they have the sugar to show for it: A cup of them has 18 grams.
- 4 / 13. Pears.
- 5 / 13. Watermelon.
- 6 / 13. Figs.
- 7 / 13. Bananas.
- 8 / 13. Less Sugar: Avocados.
As one of the most nutritious foods you can find, eggs make an essential component of any low-carb diet. They're packed with nutrients that boost brain and eye health and contain almost zero carbs.
Food and drinks allowed on a no-carb diet include meat, fish, eggs, cheese, butter, oils, water, and plain coffee or tea. If you're less stringent, you can also eat nuts, seeds, non-starchy vegetables, and high-fat fruits like avocado and coconut since these foods are low in net carbs.
Is Rice a carbohydrate food?
Bread is high in carbs — a single slice of white bread packs an average of 13 grams (3). Your body breaks down carbs into glucose, leading to an increase in blood sugar levels.
- Breads, grains, and pasta.
- Nuts and Legumes.
- Starchy Vegetables.
- Milk and yogurts.
- Fruits.
- Snack Foods.
- Sauces and condiments.
Despite being a healthy fruit, bananas are pretty high in both carbs and sugar, which are the main nutrients that raise blood sugar levels.
11 Best Low-Sugar Fruits
- Lemons (and limes)
- Raspberries.
- Strawberries.
- Blackberries.
- Kiwis.
- Grapefruit.
- Avocado.
- Watermelon.
9 Nutritious Keto-Friendly Fruits
- Avocados. Though avocados are often referred to and used as a vegetable, they're biologically considered a fruit.
- Watermelon. Watermelon is a flavorful and hydrating fruit that's easy to add to a ketogenic diet.
- Strawberries.
- Lemons.
- Tomatoes.
- Raspberries.
- Peaches.
- Cantaloupe.
But fruits, despite the health halo, also tend to be fairly rich in carbohydrates, primarily the simple sugars, glucose and fructose. Fruits are much higher in carbs than low-carb veggies but lower in carbs than foods like bread or pasta. Fruits are generally high in carbs.
Tomatoes are relatively low in total carbohydrates, and they contain many vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. As tomatoes do not contain much carbohydrate, people following a low carb diet can eat them in moderation.
Bananas are a rich source of carbs, which occur mainly as starch in unripe bananas and sugars in ripe bananas. The carb composition of bananas changes drastically during ripening. The main component of unripe bananas is starch. Green bananas contain up to 80% starch measured in dry weight.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that carbohydrates make up 45 to 65 percent of your total daily calories. So, if you get 2,000 calories a day, between 900 and 1,300 calories should be from carbohydrates. That translates to between 225 and 325 grams of carbohydrates a day.
High-carb vegetables
- Sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are a delicious favorite to include in a range of meals.
- Beets. Beetroots, or beets, are a sweet, purple root vegetable that people can eat either raw or cooked.
- Corn. Share on Pinterest Unprocessed carbohydrates are generally healthful.
Just avoiding the refined carbs — like sugar, candy, and white bread — should be sufficient, especially if you keep your protein intake high. If the goal is to lose weight fast, some people reduce their carb intake to 50 grams per day.
Potatoes are considered a starchy vegetable and a healthy carb. They're high in fiber (when including the skin), low in calories, and include vitamins and minerals. Most potato varieties have a higher glycemic index (GI).
The 10 best carbs to eat for weight loss
- of 10. Barley.
- of 10. Maple water.
- of 10. Popcorn.
- of 10. Quinoa.
- of 10. Roasted chickpeas.
- of 10. Whole-grain rye crispbread.
- of 10. Sweet potatoes.
- of 10. Whole-grain breakfast cereal.
Common simple carbs added to foods include:
- raw sugar.
- brown sugar.
- corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup.
- glucose, fructose, and sucrose.
- fruit juice concentrate.
Foods containing healthy carbs that are part of a healthy diet include:
- Yogurt.
- Corn.
- Berries.
- Oats.
- Apples.
- Brown rice.
- Whole wheat pasta.
- Popcorn.
The difference between them lies in the number of sugar molecules they contain. Simple carbs — also known as simple sugars — contain one or two sugar molecules, whereas complex carbs have three or more. A simple sugar may be a mono- or disaccharide.
Etymology: Carbohydrates are called carbohydrates because the carbon, hydrogen and oxygen they contain are usually in the proportion to form water with the general formula Cn(H2O)n.
Spoiler Alert: Carbs don't make you fat. Carbs don't make you gain weight. Gaining weight is the direct result of eating too many calories, not by eating carbs.
