We are pleased to announce that on March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor will be introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the upcoming changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!

Mystery Carbs

msarro
msarro Posts: 2,748 Member
edited September 2024 in Food and Nutrition
Just curious, today I was having a pita with some hummus and baba ganouj. When I was looking at the nutritional information on the pitas, I noticed that it said there were 24g of carbs, 4 of which was fiber. It also said that there were 0g of sugar.

So where are the other 20g? Is it soluble fiber? What other types of carbs are there? What purpose do they serve, or don't they have any?

Replies

  • msarro
    msarro Posts: 2,748 Member
    Just curious, today I was having a pita with some hummus and baba ganouj. When I was looking at the nutritional information on the pitas, I noticed that it said there were 24g of carbs, 4 of which was fiber. It also said that there were 0g of sugar.

    So where are the other 20g? Is it soluble fiber? What other types of carbs are there? What purpose do they serve, or don't they have any?
  • aymie24
    aymie24 Posts: 227
    I have the same question as something I had today was the same scenario...no sugar, 1 g fiber and 4 carbs?
  • MisoSoup79
    MisoSoup79 Posts: 517
    not all the whole grain goodness in your pita is fiber. when you crush whole wheat, only parts of that are fiber, the rest is more of a starchy substance. as long as those carbs are coming from whole grains, i wouldn't worry too much about it.

    the starchy part of the grain gets converted to energy, just like the sugars in fruits and veggies. fiber isn't really digestible, so it doesn't provide energy. it helps bind waste together and clean your intestines/colon.
  • msarro
    msarro Posts: 2,748 Member
    So its similar to sugars insomuch as your body uses it for energy, but its not technically a sugar? Am I close? :)
  • MisoSoup79
    MisoSoup79 Posts: 517
    So its similar to sugars insomuch as your body uses it for energy, but its not technically a sugar? Am I close? :)

    It really is a form of sugar, yes. There are many types of sugars. But if you're eating whole grains, it's not a simple sugar like glucose or fructose. It takes longer to break down than white sugars or fruit sugars. If you like wikipedia, check out the entry about carbohydrates: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbohydrates
  • stillkristi
    stillkristi Posts: 1,135 Member
    All carbs are sugars. The difference is in the length of the chain - or the number of sugar molecules in the chain. So, whether its a jelly bean or a whole wheat bagel (or pita) its still a sugar. Single sugar molecules = simple sugars = glucose (blood sugar) and fructose.

    Two sugars hooked together = a disaccharide = sucrose or common table sugar.

    Three sugars hooked together = a trisaccharide and more than three = polysaccharide. Foods we call starches (potatoes, oats, wheat, corn, rice, beans) fall into these categories. The terms "starch" and "complex carbohydrats" just refer to long chain or polysaccharide sugars. Our bodies can not absorb them, so they must be broken down into that first unit - glucose in order to be used. Long chains take mare energy to break down, and energy burning is a good thing. However, all sugars, long chain and short chain do one of two things in our bodies - they get used for energy or stored as fat.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories