Carbohydrates are an essential part of the human diet. They provide most of the energy for the body, as well as many vitamins and nutrients. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends that carbohydrates make up 50 percent to 60 percent of daily calorie consumption for most people, though instruction from an individual’s physician, registered dietitian or certified diabetes educator may vary.

The majority of those calories should be from complex carbohydrates. Increased dietary fiber benefits most people, though this may cause problems for patients with gastroparesis, a form of autonomic neuropathy that affects digestion.

There are two major types of carbohydrates: complex (also known as starches) and simple (also known as sugars). Simple sugars can be naturally occurring or added. Sources of carbohydrates include:

*Also in grain products such as whole–wheat bread, crackers or pasta.

Simple sugars are also found in:

• Candy
• Cookies
• Pastries
• Carbonated beverages
• Many processed foods, such as ketchup, salad dressings, canned chili and frozen dinners

Carbohydrates are scientifically classified into the following categories:

• Monosaccharides. The simplest sugars, of which glucose is the primary example.
  
  
• Disaccharides. Sugar made of two monosaccharides. Examples include lactose and sucrose.
  
  
• Trisaccharides. Sugar made of three monosaccharides.
  
  
• Polysaccharides. Sugar composed of a number of monosaccharides joined together by glycosidic bonds (the dehydration reaction between the hydroxide on the right edge of one sugar to the hydroxide on the left edge of the other sugar). Examples include starch and cellulose.
  
  
• Heterosaccharides. A glycoside in which a sugar group is attached to a nonsugar group.

Certain foods contain few or no carbohydrates. They include proteins and fats such as:

• Meat, poultry and fish
• Eggs
• Cheese
• Butter
• Oils

Nuts such as almonds, seeds such as sunflower seeds and nut-like foods such as cashews and peanuts provide fats, carbohydrates and proteins in varying amounts.