Carbs vs sugar: What’s the difference? The simple answer: they are essentially the same thing!
Sugar is simply a type of carbohydrate. But there still must be a difference, right? What sets apart table sugar from a bowl of pasta?
The difference that lies between these two is the number of sugar molecules they contain. Though, we will get onto this soon!
If you’re looking to learn all things carbohydrate, you’ve come to the right place.
Carbohydrates are probably the most talked about food group in the fitness and nutrition industry, often getting a bad rep for allegedly preventing fat loss.
The rise in fad diets has seen a fall in carbohydrate consumption—and all for the wrong reasons!
Despite what some gut health trends might say, carbohydrates are not the bad guys. While they are not essential for survival, they are essential to living an optimal, healthy life.
In this article, we discuss the following:
- What carbohydrates are
- Simple vs complex carbs
- The glycaemic index
- Net carbs
- Why you shouldn’t cut carbs
- Good vs bad sugar
- How to include carbs as part of a balanced diet
Let’s delve in!
What Are Carbohydrates?
Carbohydrates are an essential macronutrient that the body requires in large amounts to function optimally. The other two essential macronutrients that you may have heard of are protein and fat.
Though, not all carbs are created equal.
Sugar mostly makes up carbohydrates, and the length of the sugar molecule chain determines what type of carbohydrate it is and its rate of digestion and absorption (complex or simple).
Carbohydrates are made up of either fiber, starches, or sugar. These are all nutrients our body breaks down into glucose.
When these carbs are broken down into glucose, it enters the bloodstream where it’s used as readily available energy. When enough glucose is present, it also gets stored in our liver and muscles (as glycogen) where it is used for energy later, mostly during exercise or other physical activity.
The amount of carbs you consume affects your blood sugar—a high intake of carbohydrates would result in high blood sugar levels, and a low intake would cause low blood sugar levels—so, it’s important to strike a good balance!
There isn’t really a set amount of carbohydrates that we require each day, especially as they are the only food group that isn’t essential to survival.
However, there is a recommended daily intake for fat and protein, so it’s always a good idea to set your recommendations for these two food groups, then dedicate the remainder of your calorie intake to carbohydrates.
That’s if you’re choosing to track your food intake!
If not, it’s a good idea to follow hand or plate portion guidelines to ensure you’re eating an adequate amount of carbs. For example, one-quarter of your plate dedicated to carbohydrates, or one to two fist-size portions per meal.
As carbohydrates are your body's preferred fuel source, the recommended daily intake often depends on your activity levels. For example, an endurance athlete would require a significantly higher intake of carbohydrates compared to someone who lives a sedentary lifestyle.
So, what’s the difference between the different types of carbs?
Carbohydrates: Simple vs Complex
The difference between simple and complex carbohydrates lies in the size of the sugar molecule, which determines the rate of digestion and absorption (i.e., the time it takes to break down the molecule).
Simple
Simple carbohydrates include monosaccharides and disaccharides, composed of easy-to-digest sugars. What this means is that simple carbs are broken down quickly by the body to be used as energy.
Simple carbs often get a bad rep due to the typical sources having a high sugar content. Though, this doesn’t mean they are bad for you.
Example sources of simple carbs include:
- Fruit
- Milk and other dairy products
- White bread, pasta, rice
- Processed and refined sugars such as candy, table sugar, syrups, and fizzy drinks
While some sources of simple sugars include what’s often labelled as “junk food”, it also includes foods that have key nutrients. For example, fruit is a great source of vitamins that are essential to our health, and dairy also contains important nutrients such as calcium.
Simple carbs, as with any food, have a place in the diet. These can be great sources of quick-release energy before a bout of activity, or more generally as part of recipes.
However, also as with any food, you never want to consume too much of something. Too many simple carbs with a lack of other food groups such as complex carbs and protein may be more harmful down the line.
We ideally want to avoid regularly spiking our blood sugar and eating highly processed foods, as these are what can lead to over-eating. This is why carbs get such a bad rep, as typical food sources of simple carbs are highly palatable and easy to overeat, possibly leading to weight gain.
So, what about complex carbs?
Complex
Complex carbs make up the carbs that are longer chain sugar molecules called oligosaccharides and polysaccharides.
This means that they typically take longer to digest and absorb, providing a slower release of energy. These types of carbs are often higher in fiber, which is what makes them slower to break down and digest.
As a result of this, they are also more filling, making them a staple in anyone’s diet as the “healthier” carb option.
Fiber and starch are the two types of nutrients that make up complex carbs.
Starches include:
- Potatoes
- Bread
- Cereal products
- Rice and grains
- Pasta
Fiber is a type of carbohydrate that the body cannot digest. As mentioned, carbs are broken down into smaller sugar molecules until it is eventually glucose, though fiber cannot be broken down like this.
This means that fiber passes through our body undigested. This is an essential nutrient for our health this undigestible substance is what keeps us regulated, keeping our hunger at bay and our blood sugar in check.
Fiber is also essential for our gut health as its food for our microbiome, which is defined as all of our microorganisms and bacteria found in the gut. There is so much more to our gut health than we ever imagined, and it plays a bigger role in health than we may think!
Understanding the Glycaemic Index
Now we have determined the two types of carbs - complex and simple - it may now be easier to understand the glycaemic index, or GI.
The GI is a rating system for carbohydrate sources. It shows how quickly each food affects our blood sugar levels when that food is consumed on its own.
While it is easier to split carbohydrates into “simple” and “complex”, which often gives enough information about how digestible that carb is, the GI can be a useful tool for those who need to pay closer attention to their blood sugar levels, such as diabetics.
The GI runs from 0 to 100 and uses pure glucose (sugar) as the reference, which has a GI of 100. Other foods such as fruits and vegetables, milk, nuts, pulses, and wholegrains would have a low GI (below 55).
Though, you can actually change the GI of a food if you were to consume it alongside other sources.
For example, consuming a high GI carb alongside a source of protein or fat would slow down the digestion and absorption of that carb, thus making it a lower GI rating. This is where glycaemic load comes into play, though this is another article for another time!
Keeping an eye on the GI rating of the carbs you eat has been shown to help diabetics manage their blood sugar levels better, though this is an optional approach and should be discussed with a doctor beforehand.
What Are Net Carbs?
Time to familiarize yourself with food labels!
You have probably looked at a food label before and the carb content is often split between total carbohydrates, net carbohydrates, and fiber.
Net carbs refer to the number of carbohydrates in food minus the fiber. Due to fiber not raising blood sugar levels, it is taken out of this calculation to determine net carbs.
Some fad diets require counting net carbs as part of a weight loss plan, though this isn’t known to be the best method of tracking food intake for fat loss.
Total carbohydrates then refer to the whole carbohydrates content of a food, including fiber and sugars.
Fiber content would simply refer to the fiber contained in the food, not including any other type of carbohydrate.
The bottom line here is that carbohydrates are not bad for you. Both simple and complex have a place in the diet. Though, this doesn’t stop people from believing that carbs and sugar are the bad guys!
Let’s take a closer look at why we shouldn’t be cutting carbs out of our diet.
Why You Shouldn’t Cut Carbs
As we have mentioned, carbohydrates are our body’s main and preferred energy source. Yet, they are often the ones blamed for the obesity epidemic, alongside the right in metabolic diseases.
This misinformation leads to people believing that to lose weight, we must cut out the carbs.
Refined, processed carbs are the ones that have given carbs, as a whole, a bad name. This is because, as you now know, they are quicker and easier to digest and absorb.
This means they cause a quicker spike in our blood sugar which results in a quicker drop, leaving us feeling hungry a short while after consumption.
Though, this is still not a good enough reason to cut them out completely.
Managing your weight can be a lot more simple and easier than cutting out an entire food group, which is often unsustainable and unhealthy.
For example, reducing your intake of highly processed carbs, or consuming them alongside complex sources, or sources of fats and protein, can help prevent a big spike in blood sugar, thus keeping you fuller and more satisfied.
Also, swapping our simple carbohydrates for complex versions. For example, switching from white bread to brown bread will contain more fiber, which keeps your fuller and has a lower GI rating.
Ultimately, it’s all about balance!
Let’s take one last look at why carbohydrates are so important for our health:
Gut
As we have mentioned, fiber is a type of carbohydrate that is absolutely key to maintaining good gut health. A good gut means a better functioning immune and digestive system, and a range of benefits for overall health.
Fiber is found naturally in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, so it’s important not to cut out these sources of carbs as they are far more important than you may think!
Brain
Not only does our body use carbohydrates for fuelling our movement and activity, but it also fuels our brains and other important organs.
Our brain relies on glucose as an energy source to work effectively, and without it, our cognitive function may be impaired.
Exercise
To perform and recover optimally, we must make carbs a key part of our diet!
Our body’s preferred fuel source is carbohydrates, so when we are working out at a high intensity, our body is using up our glycogen stores to fuel our muscles and give us energy to keep going.
Without sufficient carbohydrate intake before and after exercise, we are at risk of poor performance and recovery, which may even increase our risk of injury.
Consuming simple carbs before a tough workout is actually proven to be a fundamental method of performing at your peak by supplying you with the fuel you need. This is one of the key recommendations in the sports nutrition world.
So, now we have determined that carbs shouldn’t be cut out of your diet and should be included as part of a balanced diet, is there actually any harm in consuming too much?
Sugar 101
One of the first recommendations you will hear when embarking on a fat loss diet is to cut out sugar.
While everything has a place in the diet, sugar (more specifically refined, or free sugars) is something you should be more aware of than other nutrients.
When we say refined sugars, we mean:
- Sweets, cakes, and biscuits
- Table sugar
- Sweet cereals
- Syrups and honey
- Soft drinks
- Baked goods
These are typically the ones labelled as junk food due to the high calorie content and lack of nutrients.
These foods shouldn’t be avoided completely unless they are a specific trigger for you, but they can be included as part of a balanced diet.
Having said this, they should be somewhat reduced to avoid overeating and other negative health effects from consuming too much, too regularly.
You may have heard of fruit and dairy products being deemed in the same category as the foods above, however the high sugar content of these foods is naturally occurring.
For example, fructose is the naturally occurring sugar found in fruit, as is lactose, which is found in dairy products.
These foods shouldn’t be cut out as they supply essential nutrients for our health, and also come with a dose of fats, protein, and fiber which slows down digestion, as we know!
Free or refined sugars that are more clearly highly processed are the ones to reduce and control.
The Final Take-Home
Carbohydrates form an integral part of our food consumption, despite having a bad rep due to the rise of fad diets.
There are two types of carbohydrates, complex and simple. These refer to how quickly they are digested and absorbed.
It is important to include both simple and complex carbs in your diet, as they both have a place.
However, complex should form more of a staple part of the diet due to the nutrient and fiber content. Simple carbs should form a smaller portion of overall food intake, but shouldn’t be completely cut out, under most circumstances.
Carbs and sugar are not necessarily bad for you, assuming you consume a balanced, healthy diet and include carbs as part of this diet!
