What are "simple sugars" and "processed grains"?

Question

Give an example of what foods I might find these in.
If you're going to have a 0 calorie sweetner, is Splenda ok for you? Is any whole wheat bread ok? what do they mean by "processed grains"?

Answer 1

Hmmm, you might have better luck asking this in the math & science section, because this is a chemistry question. It has to do with how easy the molecules are to break down, I believe. Sugars (like honey, cane sugar, glucose syrup, corn syrup...) are all very easy to break down and metabolize, but some more so than others. I think glucose is the easiest - for mountain climbing, you can get these (nasty!) packets called Gu, and I think they're just solid glucose, so you can get the quickest energy - yech!

Anyway, along that same continuum are the other carbohydrates. That's what sugar is - a simple carbohydrate; starches and grains are complex carbohydrates, because I believe they're made up or multiple simple carbs joined together.

I think potato starch and white rice are all pretty basic - I think it's easy for your body to break them quickly into sugars, so you can get hungry again awfully soon. White flour (the "processed" kind) is just the endosperm of the grain - which, again, is easy to break down. The germ (which is protein) and the bran (fiber) are left in in whole grains - so you've got a lower concentration of the white, "easy" stuff (the endosperm) and the protein and fiber are now in there, making the bread harder to digest and keeping you full longer.

Whole wheat breads, pastas, etc... usually are made of a mix of whole wheat and white, refined flour - because whole wheat is heavy, and the white flour lightens it up. It's good to choose a bread that's got whole wheat flour as the first ingredient, I believe :) Or anything that's got high fiber and protein counts.

Finally - I love Splenda! I say, go for it - I use it all the time :)

Hope that helps! Good luck :)

Answer 2

Simple sugars are processed sugars such as white sugar, corn syrup, glucose, etc. These are what you find in soda, candies, and baked goods. Processed grains are, well, grains that have been processed, meaning they're grains that have been stripped of their bran and processed to cook easier--things like white rice (and things like rice-a-roni), white flour, etc.

I prefer Splenda for a 0 calorie sweetener, and it's ok if you're cutting back on sugars/carbohydrates. Not all "whole wheat" breads are okay--you'll have to read labels and see what's in them. Look for labels that say Whole Grain and have a high fiber content per slice (3 or more grams per slice).

Answer 3

Splenda is good, not any whole wheat bread is okay, look at the ingredients and make sure that the first item listed is whole grain, any bread that says enriched is not good, processed grains are white flour, white rice, any grain that is not whole grain.

Answer 4

And why should I try an answer
simple sugars = any compound of C H O with not too many numbers or other CH? added
Precessed Grains = A blatant lie on the public.. > > every grain all even rice is processed .
From the field to the warehouse ! ! !
what fool doesn't see it

Answer 5

Simple sugars are low-molecular weight monomers that are rapidly absorbed into the blood stream, and mess up your insulin level more. Examples are table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup.

Processed grains are things like bleached wheat flour. They're made of grains, but they've been through a lot. Presumably, lots of trace minerals and vitamins have been removed.