Download 7. Starches/Complex carbohydrates

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There is no evidence that eating a lot of sugar leads to diabetes, but people with
diabetes must follow a medically supervised diet—one that restricts sugar.
Large amounts of sugar may cause tooth decay. It also depends on how often you
eat sweets and on how long the sugar stays on your teeth.
Obesity: Believe it or not, sugar is not high in calories. Like other carbohydrates,
sugar provides 4 calories per gram; this is equal to about 15 calories per teaspoon.
Sweets are usually limited in weight loss diets because:
 Sweet foods don’t usually contribute significant amounts of nutrients. Weight loss
diets encourage the consumption of nutrient-dense foods to meet nutritional needs
with a limited amount of calories.
 Many sweet foods are also high in fat; and fat is high in calories. Therefore, high-fat
foods like chocolate candy, pie and doughnuts are high in calories.
A 12-ounce can of cola has at least 9 teaspoons of sugar. If a person drank one can a
day, that would add up to 29 pounds of sugar per year. The average person consumes
125 pounds of sweeteners (including sucrose, fructose, and corn sweeteners) per year.
This amounts to ½ cup of sugar per day. That is 320 calories per day.
7. Starches/Complex carbohydrates
Starches are complex carbohydrates. Wheat, rice, and beans—and products made from
them, such as bread and pasta—are examples of starchy foods. All supply nutrients other
than carbohydrates. When you eat such foods your body changes starch to glucose.
Starch is not fattening. Many of the calories come from the fat we add to starchy
foods. For example, a bagel contains 160 calories. If 2 ounces of cream cheese are
added, the calories are increased to 360.
8. Fiber Facts
Fiber is a carbohydrate that supplies no nutrients or calories. Its important function is to
play a part in digesting all other foods you eat. It helps move food through the digestive
system, particularly the intestines.
Fiber is found in whole-grain breads and cereals, in vegetables and fruit. It is the
structural part of the plants, the framework that holds plants together.
Fiber cannot be digested in the human body. It passes directly through the
digestive system, helping the body to get rid of waste. Fiber works by absorbing
moisture and adding bulk to food passing through the intestines. . This added bulk helps
to stimulate the intestinal muscles, so that digestive products are moved along quickly
and eliminated regularly.
With changes in food production—such as canning and refining processes— the
fiber content has been reduced in many food products. Besides preventing constipation,
fiber offers other health benefits—it may protect against colon cancer and reduce blood
cholesterol levels for example.
Most nutrition experts recommend an intake of 20 – 35 grams of fiber per day.
When eating more fiber, be sure to also drink more fluids. Excessive fiber without
adequate fluids can cause constipation.
Some foods are fiber foolers. For example, celery is very low in fiber. There is no dietary fiber in
meat. Try to include foods such as oatmeal, broccoli, apples, apricots, baked beans, melon, and popcorn.