The scientific basis for healthful carbohydrate profile

Figures & data

Table 1. Dietary simple and complex carbohydrates classification (adapted from FAO/WHO 1997 and Cummings and Stephen 2007).

	Class	Sub-groups	Components
Simple	Sugars (DP 1–2)	–Monosaccharides	–Glucose, galactose, fructose, tagatose
		–Disaccharides	–Sucrose, lactose, maltose, isomaltulose
		–Sugars alcohols (polyols)^1	–Sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, erythritol. Maltitol, isomalt, lactitol
Complex	Oligosaccharides (DP 3–9)	–Malto-oligosaccharides	–Maltodextrins (hydrolysed starch)
		–Non-digestible oligosaccharides	–Raffinose, stachyose, fructo- and galacto-oligosaccharides, polydextrose, inulin
	Polysaccharides (DP >9)	–Starch	–Amylose, amylopectin, modified starches
		–Non-starch polysaccharides	–Cellulose, hemicellulose, pectins, hydrocolloids (gums, ß-glucan)

DP: degree of polymerization; ¹Regulatory-wise, polyols are not labeled as “sugars”.

Table 2. Associations of free/added sugars intake as foods (F) and beverages (B) and recommendations of intake according to different health organizations/authorities.

	Sugars definition	Dental caries	Obesity	Type 2 diabetes	CVD	Recommendations (% of total energy)
EFSA (2010)	Added sugars: “Sucrose, fructose, glucose, starch hydrolysates (glucose syrup, high- fructose syrup) and other isolated sugar preparations used as such or added during food preparation”	F & B	B	B	NC	None
DGAC (2015)	Added sugars: « Mono- and disaccharides added during the processing of foods or packaged as such, and include syrups, naturally occurring sugars that are isolated from a whole food and concentrated and other caloric sweeteners »	F & B	F & B^*	B	F & B^*	< 10
WHO (2015)	Free sugars: “all monosaccharides and disaccharides added to foods and beverages by the manufacturer, cook, or consumer, plus sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates”	F & B	F & B^*	ND	ND	< 10 (strong); <5 (conditional)
SACN (2015)	As WHO	F & B	F & B^*	B	NC	< 5

F:, Foods; B: Beverages; ND, not determined; NC, not conclusive; CVD: cardiovascular diseases;

* more consistent in beverages than foods.

Table 3. Caloric value and average relative sweetness of different carbohydrates (Shallenberger 1993; Livesey 2003; Lê et al. 2016).

	Sugars (mono and disaccharides)										Polysaccharides
										Oligosaccharides	Digestible	Non digestible
	Gluc	Fruc	Galac	Allu	Taga	Suc	Lac	Iso	S. Al	Maltodextrins	Starches	Fibers^**
Caloric value (kcal/g)	4	4	4	0.2	1.5–2.4^*	4	4	4	0.2–3	4	4	≤ 2
Relative sweetness	0.6	1.2	0.5	0.7	0.9	1.0	0.3	0.5	0.4–1	0.1–0.2	<0.05	<0.05

Gluc: glucose; Fruc: fructose; Galac: Galactose; Allu: Allulose; Taga: tagatose; Suc: sucrose; Lac: Lactose; Iso: isomaltulose; S. Al: Sugars alcohols.

* labeled as 1.5 kcal/g in the US and 2.4 kcal/g in Europe,

** include non digestible oligosaccharides and resistant starch.

Table 4. Average GI of different carbohydrates. Low GI < 55; High GI > 70 (adapted from Atkinson et al. 2008; Livesey 2003; Lê et al. 2016).

	Sugars (mono and disaccharides)										Polysaccharides
										Oligosaccharides	Digestible	Non digestible^**
	Gluc	Fruc	Galac	Allu	Taga	Suc	Lac	Iso	S. Al	Maltodextrins	Starches^*	Fibers^**
Glycemic Index (%)	100	23	25	∼0	∼0	65	46	32	6–50	105	40–105	∼0

Gluc: glucose; Fruc: fructose; Galac: Galactose; Allu: Allulose; Taga: tagatose; Suc: sucrose; Lac: Lactose; Iso: isomaltulose; S. Al: Sugars alcohols.

* Quality and process dependent.;

** include also non digestible oligosaccharides and resistant starch.

Table 5. Total fiber and non starch polysaccharide (NSP) content (% dry weight) of different food sources of plant origin. (Adapted from Anderson and Bridges 1988; Knudsen 2014).

Food Source	Total Fiber	NSP^*	Soluble NSP	Insoluble NSP
Cereals (raw)
Corn	10.1	9.0	1.1	7.9
Wheat	13.1	11.3	2.4	8.9
Barley	21.8	18.6	4.8	13.8
Oats	29.8	23.2	3.1	20.1
Wheat bran	43.4	36.4	2.7	33.7
Vegetables (raw)
Cabbage	23.2	22.4	8.7	13.7
Carrots	23.8	22.8	11.4	11.4
Lettuce	21.0	19.0	4.7	14.3
Spinach	28.8	24.7	6.6	18.1
Legumes (canned)
Green beans	34.0	31.4	8.1	23.3
White beans	18.2	17.2	5.3	11.9
Green peas	21.3	20.4	3.0	17.4
Lentils (cooked)	15.7	12.6	1.7	10.9
Fruits (raw)
Apple	12.7	10.5	4.5	6.0
Banana	7.3	4.1	2.1	2.0
Orange	11.5	11.1	6.7	4.4

* Non starch polysaccharides: total fiber minus resistant starch.

Table 6. Rapidly digested starch (RDS) slowly digested starch (SDS), resistant starch (RS) and non starch polysaccharides (NSP) content of starchy foods (g/100 g as eaten) (from Englyst et al. 1996). Values might differ between cultivars.

Food Source	RDS	SDS	RS	NSP
Cereals
Pearled barley	8.0	7.0	2.1	4.8
Buckweat	11.8	8.5	1.8	0.8
Sweetcorn	15.4	1.4	0.3	3.3
Freshly-boiled white rice	17.4	5.6	0	0.2
Brown rice	14.6	9.2	0	0.8
Legumes and tubers
Butter beans	9.4	0.8	1.2	5.9
Haricot beans	4.1	5.8	8.3	6.6
Kidney beans	4.7	9.8	2.5	6.3
Red lentils	7.3	6.1	2.4	1.6
Potato	15.2	0.7	0.1	1.4

FAO/WHO expert consultation. 1997. Carbohydrates in human nutrition. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/docrep/w8079e/w8079e00.htm

 Google Scholar

Cummings, J. H., and A. M. Stephen 2007. Carbohydrate terminology and classification. Eur J Clin Nutr. 61:S5–18. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602936.

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

EFSA. 2010. Scientific opinion on dietary reference values for carbohydrates and dietary fibre. EFSA Journal 8 (3):1462.

 Google Scholar

DGAC. 2015. Scientific Report of the 2015 dietary guidelines advisory committee. From https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015-scientific-report/pdfs/scientific-report-of-the-2015-dietary-guidelines-advisory-committee.pdf

 Google Scholar

Bravo, L., P. Siddhuraju, and F. Saura-Calixto 1998. Effect of various processing methods on the in Vitro Starch digestibility and resistant Starch content of indian pulses. J. Agr. Food Chem. 46:4667–74. doi:10.1021/jf980251f.

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

SACN. 2015. Carbohydrates and Health Report (ISBN 9780117082847). From https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sacn-carbohydrates-and-health-report

 Google Scholar

Shallenberger, R. 1993. Sweetness and other taste attributes of the sugars. In Taste chemistry, ed. R. Shallenberger, pp 189–97. London: Chapman & Hall.

 Google Scholar

Livesey, G. 2003. Health potential of polyols as sugar replacers, with emphasis on low glycaemic properties. Nutr. Res. Rev. 16:163–91 doi:10.1079/NRR200371.

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Lê, K. A., F. Robin, and O. Roger 2016. Sugar replacers: from technological challenges to consequences on health. Curr. Opin. Clin. Nutr. Metab. Care 19:310–15. doi:10.1097/MCO.0000000000000288.

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Atkinson, F. S., K. Foster-Powell, and J. Brand-Miller 2008. International tables of glycemic index and glycemic load values: 2008. Diabetes Care 31:2281–83. doi:10.2337/dc08-1239.

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Anderson, J. W., and S. R. Bridges 1988. Dietary fiber content of selected foods. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 47:440–47.

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Knudsen, K. E. 2014. Fiber and nonstarch polysaccharide content and variation in common crops used in broiler diets. Poult. Sci. 93:2380–93. doi:10.3382/ps.2014-03902.

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Englyst, H. N., J. Veenstra, and G. J. Hudson 1996. Measurement of rapidly available glucose (RAG) in plant foods: a potential in vitro predictor of the glycaemic response. Br. J. Nutr. 75:327–37.

 PubMed Web of Science ®Google Scholar