Not only do they provide vitamins and minerals, but they also are quickly absorbed by the bloodstream and are available for immediate use by the body. They act in the same way as fruit in providing quick energy, but that's about it. Foods like these, which include candy, sodas and sugary sweeteners found in cakes and cookies, are called empty calories - they provide calories, but nothing else. In moderation, these foods are appropriate, but the bulk of your carbs should come from complex carbohydrates, such as pasta, rice, grains, bread, cereal, legumes and vegetables. Before we get into why you should eat more complex carbohydrates, here is a little biochemistry lesson to give you a better understanding.
Complex carbohydrates are compounds of long strands of many simple sugars linked together.
After you eat a food rich in complex carbohydrates, many enzymes work together to break it down to its simplest form - glucose. Glucose is the simple sugar that your body recognizes and absorbs. First of all, complex carbohydrates provide vitamins and minerals, and even fiber, depending on the food. Another reason to choose complex carbohydrates is, for the most part, the glucose created during digestion gets released into your blood more slowly. Rice Feeds Half the World.