{"id":1135,"date":"2014-11-11T19:28:12","date_gmt":"2014-11-12T03:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/devinephysiques.com\/blog\/?p=1135"},"modified":"2014-11-11T19:28:12","modified_gmt":"2014-11-12T03:28:12","slug":"what-is-a-complex-carb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devinephysiques.com\/blog\/2014\/11\/11\/what-is-a-complex-carb\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a “Complex Carb”?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you know what a complex carbohydrate is? \u00a0I would argue that most people don’t, as there are a lot of misconceptions about what makes a complex carb. \u00a0The term is thrown around a lot, and is used to mean “slow digesting,” or in some really incorrect cases, “healthy.” \u00a0One of my favorites is when people recommend only eating complex carbohydrates like fruits and vegetables.<\/p>\n

. . . \u00a0Really? \u00a0Fruits? \u00a0Fruits are mostly “simple carbs,” which many associate with being “bad” for you.<\/p>\n

When it comes down to it, whether a carbohydrate is “simple” or “complex” really doesn’t matter.<\/p>\n

What is a carbohydrate?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In simplest terms, carbohydrates are sugars. \u00a0All carbohydrates, when digested, will be broken down into one of 3 simple sugars, which are called “Monosaccharides;” you may recognize the names of them: Glucose, Fructose, and Galactose. \u00a0(This is why carbohydrate choice ultimately doesn’t matter, since all carbohydrates consumed will be broken down into one of these, a topic I’ve covered before<\/a>.) \u00a0(Source<\/a>)<\/p>\n

How are carbohydrates classified?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In broadest terms, carbohydrates can be broken down into one of two camps: \u00a0Simple Carbs, and Complex Carbs. \u00a0The difference between these is a very easy to understand distinction: \u00a0If the carbohydrates are present as single (or double) sugars, it’s a simple carb; if the carbohydrates form longer chains (of more than 2 sugars), it’s a complex carb. \u00a0Another name for a complex carb is “starch,” which is defined as a long chain of sugar molecules.\u00a0 (Source 1<\/a> | Source 2<\/a>) \u00a0You’ll notice that “starch” is used to refer to potatoes, which are frequently called “simple carbs” and people are told to avoid them. \u00a0That’s not the case.<\/p>\n

\"Pictured:<\/a>

Pictured: Complex Carbs.<\/p><\/div>\n

That’s all there is to it. \u00a0An easy way to think of carbs is like a chain– \u00a0Each link on the chain is a single sugar. \u00a0If you have 2 or less links, you don’t really have a chain, so instead, you have sugars:<\/p>\n

\"8534439-abstract-3d-illustration-of-single-chain-link-with-golden-element\"<\/a><\/p>\n

If you 3 or more links, that’s considered a chain, and that is a complex carbohydrate. \u00a0This includes a wide variety of foods, from potatoes to rice (both brown and white); from bananas to broccoli:<\/p>\n

\"metal-chain-110225-gunmetal\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So should I still pick brown rice over white if they’re both complex carbs?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you’re going for the most healthful choice, going with the “brown” versions of foods is the better choice– \u00a0Brown Rice has more fiber, phytochemicals, and micronutrients than white; while both are tasty and fine to eat, if you want to make a choice that will offer more nutrition (and possibly keep you full longer), brown rice will be better. \u00a0Same with breads and other grains– \u00a0The whole grain option is a smarter choice, but that doesn’t mean that the alternative isn’t a complex carb.<\/p>\n

Don’t get caught up on\u00a0the nomenclature bandwagon– \u00a0Make smart choices that are right for you (which are hopefully the healthful choices), and you will be fine!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you know what a complex carbohydrate is? \u00a0I would argue that most people don’t, as there are a lot of misconceptions about what makes a complex carb. \u00a0The term is thrown around a lot, and is used to mean “slow digesting,” or in some really incorrect cases, “healthy.” \u00a0One of my favorites is when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","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":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"What is a \"Complex Carb\"?","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7,10,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","category-nutrition","category-nutrition-myth"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3DfsS-ij","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devinephysiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devinephysiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devinephysiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devinephysiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devinephysiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1135"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/devinephysiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1135\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1139,"href":"https:\/\/devinephysiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1135\/revisions\/1139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devinephysiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devinephysiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devinephysiques.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}