Food Guide Facts: Background for Educators and Communicators

Return to the Fact Sheet List

5. A Closer Look at Carbohydrates

This fact sheet explains why carbohydrates are important and illustrates how the Food Guide helps consumers to increase their intake of complex carbohydrate (starch) and fibre.

The Nutrition Recommendations for Canadians state that "The Canadian diet should provide 55% of energy as carbohydrate from a variety of sources." Eating patterns that are high in complex carbohydrate and fibre are associated with a lower incidence of heart disease and certain types of cancer. When the Nutrition Recommendations were released, data from 1986 showed that Canadians got approximately 48% of a day's energy from carbohydrate.

The goal to get more of a day's energy from carbohydrate is not to increase overall energy intake but rather to change the source of energy. When a person reduces fat intake there is a significant reduction in energy intake since fat provides twice the energy of either protein or carbohydrate. As fat intake is reduced, the energy should be compensated for by an increase in carbohydrate intake.

Key Message on Carbohydrates

The Nutrition Recommendations advise that the increase in carbohydrates should come from foods rich in complex carbohydrate and fibre. To do this consumers should emphasize cereals, breads, other grain products, vegetables and fruits as stated in Canada's Guidelines for Healthy Eating.

Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating promotes carbohydrates by:

• the rainbow design that puts Grain Products and Vegetables & Fruit in the outermost arcs and shows a wide range of foods in both groups;
• the larger number of servings recommended for both Grain Products and Vegetables & Fruit; and
• the directional statement for Meat & Alternatives that encourages consumers to choose dried peas, beans and lentils more often.

Kinds of Carbohydrates

• complex carbohydrate more commonly known as starch;
• fibre; and
• simple carbohydrate or sugars

A Closer Look at Complex Carbohydrate (Starch)

The Food Guide depicts a wide range of foods rich in complex carbohydrate.

Starchy foods were once considered a side dish, but now, healthy eating patterns encourage consumers to use these foods more generously and to use them as the main part of the meal.

There is the misconception that starchy foods are fattening. Staple forms of starchy foods like bread, rice, pasta, potatoes and most legumes are very low in fat.

However, starchy foods may no longer be lower in fat and energy when prepared or processed with ingredients such as fat.

For example, french fries, cookies and pasta with high-fat sauces, contribute complex carbohydrate but are higher in fat and energy. Some of the Other Foods such as potato chips also contribute complex carbohydrate but are high in fat and/or salt. These foods should be eaten in moderation.

Some Sources of Complex Carbohydrate (Starch)

• Grains: wheat, oats (oatmeal), rice, wild rice, barley, buckwheat (kasha);
• Grain-based foods: breads, rolls, muffins, cereals, pasta;
• Vegetables: potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas, corn; and
• Legumes: dried peas, beans, lentils.

A Closer Look at Dietary Fibre

There is no quantitative recommendation for a daily fibre intake although the Nutrition Recommendations advise Canadians to choose a variety of
fibre-containing foods every day.

The Food Guide encourages the consumption of more fibre by promoting the consumption of whole grain products, vegetables, fruit, dried peas, beans and lentils.

Dietary fibre is a component of plants that is largely undigested. There are two types of fibre, soluble and insoluble, that combine together in varying proportions in most fibre-containing foods to form the total fibre content of food.

Sources of Dietary Fibre

• Whole grains such as whole wheat, brown rice, whole rye, barley;
• Bran of wheat and oats;
• Vegetables;
• Fruit; and
• Legumes: dried beans, peas, lentils.

Dietary fibre, especially from whole grains and legumes, plays a useful role in regulating bowel function, more specifically in the prevention of constipation. The evidence linking fibre to the prevalence of other diseases is inconclusive. To date, it is not yet clear whether the effects originally attributed to dietary fibre are:

• from the fibre alone; or
• from the starch component of fibre-containing foods; or
• from a combination of both these factors.

For this reason, the message regarding dietary fibre encourages the use of a variety of fibre containing foods, not fibre supplements. Increases in fibre intake should be accompanied by larger intakes of fluid as well. For people not accustomed to higher fibre intakes, fibre-containing foods should be added gradually, over time. This may help to avoid excessive intestinal gas and bloating experienced by some people.

A Closer Look at Simple Carbohydrate (Sugars)

Sugars occur naturally in foods like milk, fruit and vegetables. Sugars are also added to foods in many forms: sugar or sucrose, brown sugar, glucose, fructose, dextrose, liquid invert sugar, molasses, honey and corn syrup. These added sugars and foods that are mostly sugar like soft drinks, candy and jams are classified into the Other Foods category in the Food Guide.

All added sugars, including honey and molasses, contribute primarily energy and taste and have no other significant nutritional advantages.

With the exception of dental caries, there is no conclusive evidence that sugars, when consumed at current levels, are hazardous to the health of the general public. However, people with lower energy needs may need to be more careful with their intake of foods that are high in sugar in addition to foods that are high in fat because they may not need to consume this extra energy.

The effects of sugars on dental health vary depending on caries susceptibility, oral hygiene, fluoride exposure and eating habits. The amount of sugars can play a role but quantity alone is not the only factor that matters. Frequent intakes of sugars, long exposure of teeth to sugars and sticky forms of sugars can all influence dental decay. In addition, some foods can minimize tooth decay by stimulating saliva (e.g., sugarless gum) or by providing protective substances (e.g., calcium and phosphate in cheeses).