What are REFINED CARBS-?

REFINED CARBOHYDRATES AND PURIFIED SUGARS

found this on the internet- at diagnosisdiet.com

What are Refined Carbohydrates?

It is actually easier to define which carbohydrates are NOT refined, because the term “refined” is very confusing. ALL sugars and starches, EXCEPT those that come in the form of a natural whole food like a piece of fruit, a Lima bean, or a sweet potato, are considered refined carbohydrates. If you are looking at a sweet or starchy whole food that you could come across exactly as is in nature, you are looking at an UNrefined carbohydrate.

Refined carbohydrates are forms of sugars and starches that don’t exist in nature. They do come from natural whole foods, but they have been altered in some way by processing to “refine” them. Processing methods include industrial extraction, concentration, purification, and enzymatic transformation. It’s easy for most of us to identify sugars, because they taste sweet and usually come in the form of crystals, syrups, or powders. Refined starches such as refined grains, on the other hand, are a lot more confusing.

What are Refined Grains?

Truly whole grains are intact kernels (seeds) complete with their outer bran coating, just as it is found in nature. Once the grain is broken into pieces by any kind of processing, it could be considered refined to some extent. The more finely a grain is ground, the tinier the particles. The tinier the particles, the more refined a grain is. The confusion about what constitutes a “refined” grain comes about because processing methods vary; some (such as stone-grinding) produce large, coarse particles, whereas industrial refining produces ultra-fine powders with all of the fiber and most other nutrients stripped away. Coarse stone-ground grain meals and cracked kernel grains are among the least refined, and soft, powdered grains (flours of all kinds and starches such as corn starch) are the most refined.

Particle size matters because the smaller the particles, the easier they are to digest. The easier they are to digest, the faster your blood sugar will rise after you eat them.

To make matters more confusing, there are some forms of grain processing that don’t involve grinding at all. Examples include polishing, high-heat treatment, and extrusion puffing. All of these processes damage or remove the bran coating of grains, making the grains faster to cook and the starches inside easier to digest.

REFINED CARBOHYDRATE LIST

REFINED AND SIMPLE SUGARS (often called “added sugars”)

• Table sugar/white sugar (aka sucrose; may be cane sugar or beet sugar)
• Confectioner’s sugar (powdered white sugar)
• Honey (Even though honey exists in nature and isn’t refined, it is a pure sugar that is difficult to obtain in significant quantities without special equipment or risk. Honey affects our health in exactly the same way that other sugars do.)
• Agave syrup
• Corn syrup and high-fructose corn syrup
• Brown sugar
• Molasses
• Maple syrup
• Fructose
• Brown rice syrup
• Maltose
• Glucose syrup
• Tapioca syrup
• Rice bran syrup
• Malt syrup
• Dextran
• Sorghum
• Treacle
• Panela
• Saccharose
• Carob syrup
• Dextrose, dextran, dextrin, maltodextrin
• Fruit juice concentrates

FRUIT JUICES except for lemon/lime juice. Most fruit juices require special equipment to produce in significant quantities.

ALL KINDS OF FLOUR including wheat, oat, legume (pea and bean), rice, and corn flours. 100% stoneground, whole meal flours are less refined and not as unhealthy as other types of flours because they are not as finely ground and take longer to digest.

INSTANT/REFINED GRAINS including instant hot cereals like instant oatmeal, white rice, polished rice, and instant rice

REFINED STARCHES such as corn starch, potato starch, modified food starch–essentially any powdered ingredient with the word “starch” in it

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FOODS HIGH IN REFINED CARBOHYDRATES AND ADDED SUGARS

(not meant to be a complete list)

• All desserts except whole fruit
• Ice cream, sherbet, frozen yogurt, etc
• Most breads
• Many crackers (100% stone-ground whole grain crackers are less refined)
• Cookies
• Cakes
• Muffins
• Pancakes
• Waffles
• Pies
• Pastries
• Candy
• Chocolate (dark, milk and white). Baker’s chocolate is unsweetened and is therefore an exception.
• Breaded or battered foods
• All types of dough (phyllo, pie crust, etc)
• Most cereals except for unsweetened, 100% whole grain cereals in which you can see the whole grains in their entirety with the naked eye (unsweetened muesli, rolled oats, or unsweetened puffed grain cereals are good examples)
• Most pastas, noodles and couscous
• Jello® (sugar-free varieties exist but it’s much healthier to make your own with unsweetened gelatin and fresh fruit)
• Jellies, jams and preserves
• Bagels
• Pretzels
• Pizza (because of the flour in the dough)
• Puddings and custards
• Corn chips
• Caramel corn and kettle corn
• Most granola bars, power bars, energy bars, etc (unless labelled sugar-free).
• Rice wrappers
• Tortillas (unless 100% stone-ground whole grain)
• Most rice cakes and corn cakes (unless labelled 100% whole grain)
• Panko crumbs
• Croutons
• Fried vegetable snacks like green beans and carrot chips (usually contain added dextrin, a sweet starch)
• Ketchup
• Honey mustard
• Most barbecue sauces
• Check labels on salsa, tomato sauces, salad dressings and other jarred/canned sauces for sugar/sweeteners
• Sweetened yogurts and other sweetened dairy products
• Honey-roasted nuts
• Sweetened sodas
• Chocolate milk (and other sweetened milks)
• Condensed milk
• Hot cocoa
• Most milk substitutes (almond milk, soy milk, oat milk, etc) because they usually have sugar added–read label first
• Sweet wines and liqueurs

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EXAMPLES OF FOODS LOW IN REFINED CARBS/ADDED SUGAR

• Fresh/frozen meat, poultry, and seafood
• Eggs
• Fresh or frozen unsweetened fruits
• All vegetables
• Whole grains (whole grain rice, oats, barley, quinoa, corn, etc)
• Nuts and seeds of all types
• Unsweetened nut butters
• Unsweetened coconut
• Popcorn
• 100% wholegrain rice cakes
• Whole legumes (beans, peas, lentils)
• Guacamole
• Unsweetened salsa
• Olives
• Unsweetened pickles
• Soy products (like tofu and unsweetened or sugar-free soy milk)
• Unsweetened, all-natural dairy products (milk, plain yogurt, cheeses, butter, cream, half-and-half, sour cream, etc)
• 100% stone-ground wholegrain breads or crackers without sugar added
• Unsweetened tomato sauce and other unsweetened, starch-free sauces
• Unsweetened salad dressings (most fat-free dressings contain sugar–check labels). Low-sugar options include blue cheese, ranch, full-fat Italian, Greek, Caesar dressings.
• Herbs and spices
• Oils
• Unsweetened vinegars (balsamic vinegar and certain other fruity vinegars can be very sweet—read label for carbohydrate content)
• Textured vegetable protein
• Unsweetened coffee, tea, sparkling water (either plain or with natural flavors or essences added), water
• Most red wines. Dry white wines. All spirits (whiskey, gin, vodka, etc) Happy about this one :-)