Complex Carbohydrates List

Complex carbohydrates foods are very important part of our daily diets. Complex carbohydrates contain a chain of three or more single sugar molecules that are linked. These long chains of sugar molecules are known as starch. Complex carbohydrates are the primary source of energy for the human body system. Complex carbs list helps in providing the body with a steady source of energy. So, why don't we live on a diet of Cola to meet our daily need of carbohydrates, that is, sugar?

The answer is difference in the number of sugars. In complex carbohydrates, there are long strands of sugar that are enclosed in large starch molecules in fruits, peas, beans and other vegetables. These long and complex chain of sugars are also called polysaccharides. These polysaccharides are a combination of many single sugar units like lactose, sucrose and maltose.

Starches are a form of complex carbohydrates that are found in plants, cellulose or fibers that are indigestible carbohydrates. Glycogen are also carbohydrates found in animals and humans. Complex carbs take a long time to digest as digestive enzymes need to work a lot on the long chains of sugars to be able to break them down to simple sugars. Let us have a look at complex carbohydrates list in the following paragraphs.

Complex Carbohydrates Examples

Complex carbohydrates are commonly found in whole grain. Thus, some of the common complex carbohydrates examples are whole grain breads, oats, brown rice, etc. All carbohydrates are broken down to glucose. This glucose molecule undergoes a biochemical pathway to produce an energy molecule ATP (adenosine triphosphate). Thus, complex carbohydrates foods should be included in your daily diet for a good energy source. The most common natural, complex carbohydrates examples are:

• Bran
• Wheat germ
• Corn
• Buckwheat
• Barley
• Cornmeal
• Oatmeal

High Fiber Complex Carbs

The high fiber complex carbs are a group of complex carbohydrates. High fiber complex carbs are usually present in plants. Their chemical structure makes them indigestible by humans. Humans lack the enzymes that help break down the bonds between the complex sugar units. Thus, most of the dietary fiber passes out of the body without being digested.

There are two types of dietary fibers, soluble and insoluble. Dietary fibers have no nutritional value as such but are known for their role in weight control. They also help in improving gastrointestinal health, increasing glucose tolerance and insulin levels in the body. Dietary fibers help in reduction of hypertension, coronary heart disease risk factors, cancer and even hyperlipidemia. The following is a list of high fiber carbs:

Vegetables	Fruits	Beans, Nuts, Seeds	Cereal, Grains, Pasta
Beets Beet greens Bok choy Broccoli Brussels sprouts Cabbage Carrot Cauliflower Coleslaw Collard greens Corn, sweet Green beans Celery Kale Onions, raw Peas, Peppers, sweet Popcorn, air-popped Potato, baked with skin Spinach Summer squash Sweet potato Swiss chard Tomato Winter squash Zucchini	Apples with skin Apricot Avocado Banana Blackberries Blueberries Cantaloupe Cranberries Figs, dried Grapefruit Grapes Guava Kiwi Mango Nectarine Orange Papaya Peach Pear Pineapple Plum Raisins Raspberries Strawberries Tangerine Watermelon	Almonds Black beans Brazil nuts Cashews Coconut, raw Flax seeds Garbanzo beans Kidney beans Lentils, red Lima beans Macadamia nuts Navy Beans Peanuts Pecans Pinto Beans Pistachio nuts Pistachios Pumpkin seeds Sesame seeds Soybeans Split Peas Sunflower seeds Walnuts	Bran cereal Bread, multi grain Bread, whole wheat Museli Oat bran bread Oatmeal, cooked Oats, rolled dry Pancake, buckwheat mix Pancake, whole grain mix Pasta, whole wheat Popcorn, popped Rice, basmati brown Rice, dry brown Rice, wild Rye bread

Complex Carbohydrates List of Foods

The following are the complex carbohydrates list of foods that you should eat everyday. The complex carbohydrates list is really long, so you have a variety of foods to choose from.

List of Complex Carbohydrate Food that can be Eaten Everyday
All-Bran cereals Apples Artichokes Asparagus Bagel Baked beans Bananas Beans Broccoli Brown bread	Brown rice Brussels Sprouts Buckwheat Buckwheat bread Cabbage Carrots Cassava Cauliflower Celery Chickpeas	Corn Cornmeal Cucumbers Dill Pickles Dried apricots Eggplant Garbanzo beans Granary Bread Grapefruits High fiber breakfast cereals	Kidney beans Lentils Lettuce Low fat yogurt Macaroni Maize Muesli Multi-grain bread Navy beans Oat bran bread	Oat bran cereal Oatcakes Oatmeal Okra Onions Oranges Other root vegetables Pastas Peas Pinto beans	Pitta bread Plums Porridge Oats Potato Prunes Pumpernickel bread Radishes Ryvita crisp bread Shredded wheat Skim milk	Soy milk Soybeans Spaghetti Spinach Split peas Sprouts Strawberries Sweet potato Tomatoes Turnip Greens	Water Cress Weetabix Whole Barley Whole grain Cereals Whole grain flours Whole meal bread Wholemeal spelt Wild rice Yam Zucchini

Complex Carbohydrate Foods for Diabetics

After having a look at the preceding table of complex carbohydrate list, you must be ready to shop for foods that contain complex sugars. But, before you head out to the market, wait. Do you have diabetes? If yes, then you should be careful about what you eat.

Food Groups	Grains, Cereals	Vegetables	Fruits	Meat and Meat Substitutes	Sweets, Oils, Fats
Foods to Enjoy	Whole wheat flour, brown rice, whole grain cereals, whole grain products (e.g. bread, pastas, pretzels, tortillas, crackers), corn, baked potatoes	Steamed broccoli, 100% mixed vegetable juice, roasted peppers, mixed green salad with fat-free salad dressings, tomato soup	Frozen fruit or fruit canned in fruit juice, sugar-free or low-sugar jam or preserves, unsweetened applesauce (no added sugar), 100% fruit juice or low-carb juices, fresh fruits, unsweetened canned fruits, unsweetened dried fruits	Reduced-fat mayonnaise, baked, broiled, grilled, or stewed meats, baked, broiled, steamed, or grilled fish, steamed egg, lower-fat cuts of meat, sautéed, steamed, or cooked in soup tofu, low-fat cheddar cheese, unsalted roasted peanuts, turkey bacon, baked or stewed beans	Baked snacks, such as baked potato chips, baked corn chips, puffed rice, or corn snacks, vegetable oils, canola oil, non-hydrogenated butter spreads, margarine, avocado, olive, light salad dressings
Foods to Avoid	White flour, white rice, white flour products (e.g. bread, pasta, pretzels, tortillas, crackers)	Salad with regular dressings, canned vegetables, vegetables cooked with butter or animal fats	Canned fruit with heavy sugar syrup, regular jam, jelly, and preserves (to be eaten only if the portion taken is really minimal), sweetened applesauce, chewy fruit rolls, fruit punch, fruit drinks, fruit juice drinks, sweetened soda, sugar-preserved dried fruits	Fried meats, higher-fat cuts of meat, poultry with skin, Fried tofu, fried fish, beans prepared with lard, regular cheese, pork bacon, beef with butter sauce	Ice-cream, doughnut, cake, cookies, pie, syrup, butter, lard, regular salad dressing, regular cream cheese

This was a concise complex carbohydrate list of foods. The complex carbohydrates found in foods are known as the building blocks of a healthy body. Eat these foods in their natural state for more health benefits. If you have any doubts or before following any table, please consult a doctor or dietician for advise.