M.D. To our knowledge, there has never been an essential carbohydrate discovered. Every carbohydrate your body needs can be converted from either protein or fat. This is not a point to dwell on because there is ample evidence to support the fact that low carbohydrate nutrition is very healthy and is the proper nutrition for humans, regardless of whether carbohydrates are present or not. As far as food is concerned, carbohydrates are simply different forms of sugar.
Simple carbohydrates contain one sugar molecule, or two sugar molecules linked together.
Complex carbohydrates contain many sugar molecules linked together, called polysac- charides. All of these act like sugar in our bodies. Our stomach and intestinal juices can break apart complex carbohydrates, and our bodies see them as a simple sugar. Complex carbohydrates may be absorbed by our bloodstream more slowly than simple carbohydrates, but they are still broken down into simple sugars. It is the cumulative effect of eating large amounts of carbohydrates that can lead to a host of health problems.