Good carbs vs Bad carbs

 What is the difference in good carbs vs bad carbs. I get so confused with all this nutrition stuff. I guess the same goes for sugars vs sugar alcohols.

I think most people view it as simple vs complex...its how its broken down into our body..personally I take the easy way out and think of fruits and veggies ONLY as good..everything else is BAD!!   of course this is somewhat easier for me than others since I have to be gluten free and can't eat bread and pastas anyway...not to say I never have a GF treat like a muffin or cookie but if I am having a good day then I don't..

Aspan's got the basics down.

The longer (but still short) version is that anything that is made from plants is a carbohydrate, or carb.

Things that are eaten as is from the plant (most fruits or veggies) are complex carbs, tend to contain some fiber, and are useful for several reasons.

Things that are processed, such as flour, are simple carbs and contribute very little that is useful to our bodies.

A simple way to figure it is to go for the most untouched carbs you can get, such as fresh fruits and veggies, and avoid processed carbs such as breads/rolls/white potatoes/rice for the most part.

Even so, at this point, if we eat out, I'll have a delicious roll or a bite of DD's dessert. But I stick with protein forward (get in my protein FIRST each meal), then raw veggies, then fruit, and then, if I still have room (and I almost never do), I can have a roll or something sweet.

Waiters think I'm nuts, but they WILL bring my salad course at the same time as the entree so that I can eat my meat and then go for the veggies.

As far as sugars/sugar alcohols, sugars may cause RNYers to dump. Sugar alcohols don't, but may cause gassy issues. Additionally, there are studies showing that fake sugar (such as sugar alcohols) may cause weight gain as the body prepares for real sugar and keeps trying to "hang on" to calories that it thinks will have that sugar in it. Nevertheless, I have my sugar alcohols in my SF syrups in my shakes daily - and don't plan on giving them up!

I don't believe in Good vs. Bad when it comes to food and that includes carbs. It's all about choices and making good ones most of the time but not trying to be "perfect" 100% of the time. Plus, there hardly is a 100% perfect choice. All foods can be bad in the right situation. Like fruit... it has fructose and the body can't take a lot of fructose. So you need some fruit, but you shouldn't have tons of it. That means the first piece of fruit in a day is a good choice but the 10th piece is a bad choice.

Sugar alcohols are sugars that have a chemical composition that makes them hard to be absorbed by the body. So they don't have a lot of calories. But they aren't necessarily good for you either. Personally, they give me horrible gas! But, if you can stand them, they are away to get sweetness without the calories of sugar.

Good carbs, think rich colors, dark green, yellow, red, purple.  Bad carbs, think white, ie sugar, flour.