Foods high in Carbohydrate
All carbohydrate combined: sugars, starches, and fiber. Calculated by subtracting water + protein + fat + ash from the food's total mass, hence "by difference".
About Carbohydrate
Carbohydrates are the body's preferred fuel, especially for the brain and high-intensity muscle work. They include sugars (simple), starches (long chains of glucose), and fiber (the non-digestible part). All carbs eventually break down to glucose, fructose, or galactose for absorption.
Refined carbs, white flour, white rice, sugar, digest quickly and spike blood glucose. Whole-food carbs, beans, vegetables, intact grains, fruit, come packaged with fiber and protein, releasing glucose more slowly. Both deliver about 4 kcal per gram but their downstream metabolic effects differ.
UK guidelines suggest roughly half of daily calories from carbohydrate, with most coming from whole foods. Low-carb diets work for some people for weight loss or blood-sugar control; whether they're better long-term than balanced diets is still being actively researched.
Foods high in carbohydrate, jams and preserves, carob flour, corn bran, and more
Ranked by how much you get per calorie, so foods are not rewarded for simply being dry or concentrated. Values from USDA FoodData Central, McCance & Widdowson's CoFID, ANSES Ciqual, and other public nutrition databases. Amounts in grams.
Per calorie is the default here because it answers what to eat: ranked purely by amount, a list of the richest foods fills up with dried and concentrated things nobody eats a plateful of. Switch to per 100 grams above if concentration is what you are after. Our foods low in carbohydrate list is measured per 100 grams instead, and that is deliberate too: per calorie would reward a food for carrying plenty of energy and none of the nutrient, which puts cooking oil below lettuce on a low-sodium list.
- Jams and preserves, no sugar (with sodium saccharin), any flavor 40.47g per 100 grams
- Carob flour 40.04g per 100 grams
- Corn bran, crude 38.23g per 100 grams
- Chewing gum, sugar free 35.37g per 100 grams
- Chewing gum, sugarless 35.37g per 100 grams
- Lemon peel, raw 34.04g per 100 grams
- Syrups, chocolate, HERSHEY'S Sugar free, Genuine Chocolate Flavored, Lite Syrup 33.02g per 100 grams
- Marshmallow, no added sugar 30.25g per 100 grams
- Wheat bran, crude 29.87g per 100 grams
- Wheat bran 29.87g per 100 grams
- Cereals ready-to-eat, SUN COUNTRY, KRETSCHMER Toasted Wheat Bran 29.76g per 100 grams
- Lolly, no added sugar 29.44g per 100 grams
Common questions about Carbohydrate
- Should I eat a low-carb diet?
- Low-carb diets work for some people for weight loss or blood-sugar control, but they're not inherently superior. Both balanced and low-carb approaches can succeed; sustainability and personal response matter more than the exact ratio.
- What's the difference between simple and complex carbs?
- Simple carbs (sugars) are short molecules that digest quickly. Complex carbs (starches) are long chains of glucose that digest more slowly. Both eventually become glucose; the whole-food matrix slows the release.
- Are fruit carbs as bad as added sugar?
- No. The fructose in a whole apple comes wrapped in fiber, water, and micronutrients that slow absorption, very different from the same fructose in a fizzy drink.
- What are net carbs?
- "Net carbs" usually means total carbohydrate minus fiber, and sometimes minus sugar alcohols. It's a marketing-driven concept; UK Reference Intakes use total carbohydrate.