Carbohydrates & Sugar

Carbohydrates, or carbs, and sugar often get a bad reputation, but they play an important role in a healthy diet for both kids and adults. The key is choosing the right kinds of carbs and limiting added sugar.

What Are Carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates are the body's most important and readily available source of energy.

The two main forms of carbs are:

• Simple carbohydrates, or simple sugars. These include fructose, glucose, and lactose, which also are in whole fruits.
• Complex carbohydrates, or starches. You can find these in foods like brown rice, whole-grain breads, whole-grain cereals, and starchy vegetables (like corn and potatoes).

How Does the Body Process Carbs & Sugar?

All carbohydrates are broken down into simple sugars, which are absorbed into the bloodstream. As the sugar level rises in blood, the pancreas (an organ that aids digestion and helps regulate blood sugar) releases the hormone insulin. The body needs insulin to move sugar from the blood into the cells, where the sugar can be used as energy.

How Carbs Affect Blood Sugar Levels

The carbs in some foods cause blood sugar levels to rise quickly. These foods usually contain simple sugars and highly refined grains (grains with nutrients removed), like white flour and white rice. A diet that's high in foods that cause a rapid rise in blood sugar may increase the chance of developing health problems like diabetes.

Complex carbs (often found in whole grains), on the other hand, allow blood sugar to rise gradually.

Choosing Healthy Carbs for Kids

Some high-carb foods are healthier than others. Good options include:

• whole-grain cereals
• brown rice
• whole-grain breads
• fruits
• vegetables
• low-fat dairy

A healthy, balanced diet for kids over 2 years old should include 50% to 60% of calories from carbohydrates. The key is to make sure that most of these carbs come from good sources and that have a limited amount of added sugar.

Are Some Carbs Bad?

Carbohydrates have been seen as a problem in recent years. Medical experts think that eating too many refined carbs (carbs with nutrients removed) may be one reason why obesity is becoming more common in the United States. Refined carbs include sugars in candy and soda, and refined grains include white rice and white flour used in many pastas and breads.

How could one type of food cause such a big problem? The “bad” (or refined) carbs are:

• easy to get
• come in large portions
• taste good
• aren't too filling

So people tend to eat more of them than needed. And some carbs aren’t needed at all — sodas and candy are "empty calories" that provide no nutrients.

Sugars in Healthy Foods

But this doesn't mean that all simple sugars are bad. They’re also in many nutritious foods — like fruits, vegetables, and dairy products, which provide a range of essential nutrients that help kids’ growth and overall health. Fresh fruits, for example, contain simple sugars but also have vitamins and fiber.

Why Are Complex Carbs Healthy?

Diets rich in complex carbs that are whole grains — like brown rice, oatmeal, and whole-grain breads — protect against diabetes and heart disease. And complex carbs:

• Break down more slowly in the body: Whole grains contain the entire grain, which gives your body more to break down, so digestion is slower. When carbs enter the body more slowly, it's easier for the body to handle them.
• Are high in fiber: High-fiber foods are filling, so kids won’t be as likely to overeat. Plus, when combined with plenty of fluid, they help move food through the digestive system to help prevent constipation. They may also protect against gut cancers.
• Provide vitamins and minerals:Whole grains contain important vitamins and minerals, like B vitamins, magnesium, and iron.

Most school-age kids should eat four to six servings of grains, at least half of which should come from whole grains. A serving of grains is about 1 slice of bread, 1 cup of ready-to-eat cereal, or a half-cup of cooked rice, cooked pasta, or hot cereal.

What About Sugar?

Why Added Sugar Is a Concern

Foods that are high in added sugar (soda, cookies, cake, candy, frozen desserts, and some fruit drinks) also tend to be high in calories and low in nutrition. A high-sugar diet is often linked with obesity, and too many sugary foods can lead to tooth decay.

Aim for less than 10 grams of added sugar per meal.

Swap Out Sugary Drinks

One way to cut down on added sugar is to not serve soda or other sugar-sweetened beverages, like juice drinks (which often have as much added sugar as soft drinks). Instead, serve low-fat milk, water, or 100% fruit juice. But, although there's no added sugar in 100% fruit juice, the calories from those natural sugars can add up.

So limit 100% fruit juice to:

• 4–6 ounces (oz) or 118–177 milliliters (ml) per day for kids under 7 years old
• 8 oz (237 ml) per day for older kids and teens

Rather than serving sugary snacks, offer healthier choices, like fruit. It’s a naturally sweet carbohydrate-containing food that also provides fiber and vitamins that kids need.

How Can I Find Healthy Options?

It isn't always easy to tell which foods are good choices and which aren't. The Nutrition Facts on food labels can help.

To figure out carbohydrates, look for these three numbers:

1. Total Carbohydrate: This number, listed in grams (g), combines several kinds of carbohydrates: dietary fibers, sugars, and other carbs.
2. Dietary Fiber: Listed under Total Carbohydrate, dietary fiber itself has no calories, and a high-fiber diet has many health benefits.
3. Sugars: Also listed under Total Carbohydrate. The Nutrition Facts label separates natural sugars and added sugars. Natural sugars are in foods like fruit and dairy products. Added sugars are often in snack foods, candy, and soda.

Although carbohydrates have just 4 calories per gram, the high sugar content in snack foods means the calories can add up quickly, and these "empty calories" usually have few other nutrients.

How Can I Make Carbs Part of a Healthy Diet?

Make good carbohydrate choices (buy whole grains, fruits, veggies, and low-fat milk and dairy products), limit foods with added sugar, and encourage kids to be active every day.

And don't forget to be a good role model. Kids will see your healthy habits and copy them, leading to a healthier lifestyle in childhood and beyond.