define the two types of carbohydrates important to proper nutrition and name two foods where they can be found for each.
Complex carbohydrates (or polysaccharides) are built from single-unit sugars joined in long chains. Two types of complex carbohydrates are particularly important for nutrition: Starch: Starch is a polysaccharide that plants use to store energy. It is the main constituent of complex carbohydrates in the human diet. Examples of starchy foods include potatoes, rice, and pasta.
In food science and in many informal contexts, the term carbohydrate often means any food that is particularly rich in the complex carbohydrate starch (such as cereals, bread and pasta) or simple carbohydrates, such as sugar (found in candy, jams, and desserts).
You may also hear sugar referred to as simple or fast-acting carbohydrate. There are two main types of sugar: 1  naturally occurring sugars such as those in milk or fruit.  added sugars such as those added during processing such as fruit canned in heavy syrup or sugar added to make a cookie.