Simple carbohydrates, on the other hand, are single or double sugar molecules. They’re found in table sugar and processed foods like Pepsi and Twinkies, but they also occur naturally, like in fruit. Simple carbs, whether they’re found in a papaya or a Pop Tart, are absorbed quickly, causing the amount of sugar in your blood to skyrocket and then plunge soon after, leaving you feeling tired and hungry. But there’s a difference between the natural simple sugars found in fruit and the refined simple sugars found in candy.
When you eat that papaya, the sugar comes packaged with vitamins, minerals, water, and fiber. Also, the sweetness in fruit comes from fructose (as opposed to sucrose or glucose in other simple sugars), and fructose doesn’t cause the sort of sharp insulin spike that other simple sugars do.
In general, eat foods that are processed as little as possible. Choose an apple over apple juice, and whole-wheat bread over white bread. Be sure to buy bread that is actually labeled “whole wheat.” Many wheat and grain breads are mostly refined white bread colored with molasses, despite the brown wrapping that depicts wheat fields waving in the wind and names like “12- grain health nut bread.”
Read food labels carefully and find out where you’re getting most of your refined sugar. Breakfast cereals such as Kellogg’s Raisin Bran and Frosted.
Flakes are more than 42 percent sugar. Flavored yogurts are loaded with sugar, too. Be aware that sugar goes by other aliases, including corn syrup, honey, maple syrup, maltodextrin, sucrose, and other words that end in -ose.
