Simple Carbohydrates Are Small Sugars Menu Verywell Fit Nutrition Weight Management Nutrition Facts Nutrition Basics Diets Meal Plans Meal Delivery Services View All News Fitness and Nutrition What to Buy How We Test Products Fitness Gear Nutrition Products Tools Recipe Nutrition Calculator Weight Loss Calorie Goal BMI Calculator Body Fat Percentage Calculator Calories Burned by Activity Daily Calories Burned Pace Calculator About Us Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Search Nutrition Basics Simple Carbohydrates By Shereen Lehman, MS Shereen Lehman, MS Shereen Lehman, MS, is a healthcare journalist and fact checker. She has co-authored two books for the popular Dummies Series (as Shereen Jegtvig). Learn about our editorial process Updated on January 31, 2021 Medically reviewed Verywell Fit articles are reviewed by board-certified physicians and nutrition and exercise healthcare professionals. Medical Reviewers confirm the content is thorough and accurate, reflecting the latest evidence-based research. Content is reviewed before publication and upon substantial updates. Learn more. by Mia Syn, MS, RDN Medically reviewed by Mia Syn, MS, RDN Mia Syn, MS, RDN is a registered dietitian nutritionist with a master of science in human nutrition. She is also the host of Good Food Friday on ABC News 4. Learn about our Medical Review Board Print Verywell / Alexandra Shytsman Carbohydrates can be a little confusing. Sometimes people talk about complex carbs as "good carbs" and refer to simple carbohydrates as "bad carbs." But it's not accurate to say all simple carbs are bad. Some are good. To understand why, it helps to learn about the biochemistry of simple carbohydrates. What Are Simple Carbs As far as chemical structure, simple carbs are small molecules consisting of a monosaccharide or two monosaccharides linked together. Anything bigger than that is called a complex carbohydrate. Okay, so what's a monosaccharide? It's just the fancy word for a single sugar. Glucose is a monosaccharide, and it's a good sugar because it's the type of sugar your body and brain use for fuel every day. Other monosaccharides include fructose, which is found in fruits and vegetables, and galactose, which is found in milk. None of these are bad for you. The single sugars can be combined to form disaccharides, a term that means "two sugars." These sugars include: Lactose (milk sugar) is made up of glucose and galactose molecules. People who are lactose intolerant can't digest this sugar properly.Sucrose (table sugar) is composed of glucose and fructose molecules. It's the white powdery or granular substance we typically refer to as "sugar" when we're cooking or baking.Maltose (malt sugar) is produced during the malting of cereals such as barley. Simple carbs are fairly easy for your body to digest. Not much happens in the mouth or stomach—most simple carbohydrate digestion occurs in the small intestine. Enzymes break the simple sugars into individual components that can cross the intestinal walls of and enter your bloodstream. Any sugar your body doesn't use for fuel is converted to fat and stored in adipose tissue. Identifying Simple Carbohydrates on Labels Simple carbs are often used in processed foods. Often they are foods that are high in calories, and not very nutritious, which may be why simple carbs are tagged as "bad." If you're cleaning up your diet, it may help to cut back on foods that contain these ingredients: Sucrose Brown Sugar Raw Sugar High Fructose Corn Syrup Corn Syrup Dextrose Glucose Fructose Maltose Malt Sugar Syrup Honey How to Read Nutrition Labels Are All Simple Carbohydrates Bad for You Simple carbs are not bad molecules—your body likes them, in the right amounts. Like many things, it's the dose that makes the poison. The problem is that foods high in simple sugars have a lot of calories, and consuming too much sugar and calories isn't good for you. Fruits and vegetables naturally contain fructose—but they're also good for you because they're nutrient-dense, and they contain fiber that slows down the digestion and absorption of sugar. Fruit juices that don't contain fiber can still be very nutritious, but the simple carbohydrates are absorbed much more quickly without the fiber to slow digestion down. So that's why it's better to eat whole fruit rather than drink fruit juice. Milk contains lactose, which is a problem for people who are lactose-intolerant. People with this condition must avoid milk and many other dairy products or use supplemental enzymes called lactase that help them digest milk sugar. Sources Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Nutrition for Everyone: Basics: Carbohydrates." By Shereen Lehman, MS Shereen Lehman, MS, is a healthcare journalist and fact checker. See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Other Helpful Report an Error Submit Related Articles Carbohydrates Are an Important Source of Energy From Your Diet Is Sugar Addictive or Just Rewarding: A Closer Look at the Research Discover the Role Carbs Play in Your Diet The Macronutrients Your Body Needs Most The 7 Best Sugar Alternatives of 2022, According to a Dietitian What You Should Know About Invert Sugar All You Need to Know About Carbohydrates: Simple, Complex, Fiber, and What to Choose Digestive Enzymes: Are They Worth Trying? What Are Complex Carbohydrates? Nectarine Nutrition Facts and Health Benefits The Best Energy Chews, Gels, and Bars for Running, According to a Dietitian How Do Carbs Fuel Exercise? How Do Low-Carb Diets Affect Your Cholesterol and Triglycerides? Best Post-Workout Supplements and Foods of 2022 The Best Smoothie Ingredients for Health and Flavor The Best Casein Protein Powders, According to a Dietitian When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. Cookies Settings Reject All Accept All