Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are the sugars, starches and fiber in food. Digested, sugars and starches become glucose, the fuel the brain and red blood cells rely on most. The US RDA for adults is 130 g a day.
130 ga day for adults, US RDA
45 - 60% of calories (EFSA range for adults)
260 g on EU food labels (reference intake), the figure behind label percentages
- Most per 100 g 99.8g Icing sugar (powdered sugar)
- Most per portion 45g 1 cup rice
- Energy 4kcal/g fiber about 2
- Three kinds Sugar, starch and fiber
Daily amount: the US RDA for adults aged 19 and over, based on the glucose the brain uses (National Academies). Food figures per 100 g from USDA FoodData Central; per portion, only for foods with a Caltide calorie page.
Foods High in Carbohydrates
Ranked per 100 g, with what a usual portion gives, limited to 3 foods per category. Foods with a Caltide calorie page link to it.
I
Icing sugar (powdered sugar)
99.8g / 100 g
S
Sugar
12 g in 1 tablespoon
Nutrition facts
99.6g / 100 g
B
Brown sugar
14 g in 1 tablespoon
98.1g / 100 g
M
Mung bean glass noodles
78 g in 1 cup spaghetti
86.1g / 100 g
F
Fonio grain
81.3g / 100 g
R
Rice noodles
73 g in 1 cup spaghetti
80.2g / 100 g
C
Corn flakes
24 g in 1 cup
Nutrition facts
79.5g / 100 g
R
Raisins
Nutrition facts
79.3g / 100 g
G
Gluten-free pasta
72 g in 1 cup spaghetti
79.3g / 100 g
B
Barley
155 g in 1 cup
77.7g / 100 g
C
Couscous
134 g in 1 cup
77.4g / 100 g
C
Currants
77g / 100 g
Per 100 g vs. a Usual Portion
Why the food that ranks first per 100 g can give less in a real serving.
| Food | Usual portion | Per 100 g | Per portion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rice | 1 cup (160 g) | 28g | 45g |
| Pasta | 1 cup, cooked (140 g) | 30.7g | 43g |
| Potato | 1 medium (200 g) | 21.5g | 43g |
| Oats | 1 bowl, dry (40 g) | 67.7g | 27g |
| Bread | 2 slices (50 g) | 49.2g | 25g |
| Banana | 1 medium (120 g) | 22.7g | 27g |
A cup of rice, a cup of pasta and a medium potato are close: each gives about 43 to 45 g, about a third of the 130 g US RDA. Swapping one for another barely changes the day's carbohydrate.
What Are Carbohydrates?
Every carbohydrate is built from sugar units. Sugars are one or two units long: glucose and fructose alone, or paired as table sugar (sucrose) and milk sugar (lactose). Starch is hundreds to thousands of glucose units in a chain. Fiber is a chain that human digestive enzymes cannot break apart.
What the Body Does With Carbohydrates
Digestion splits sugars and starch into single sugars, which pass into the blood, mostly as glucose. The brain, nerves and red blood cells use glucose as their main fuel, and muscles burn it alongside fat, more of it the harder they work.
Glucose not needed right away is stored as glycogen. The liver's glycogen keeps blood glucose steady between meals and overnight; muscle glycogen is a reserve the muscle uses for itself during exercise. Once those stores are full, extra carbohydrate can be turned into fat.
Fiber is the exception. It reaches the large intestine intact, where gut bacteria ferment part of it, which is why it counts for about 2 kcal per gram instead of 4. The fiber page covers what it does there.
Total Carbs, Net Carbs and Food Labels
The same food can show two carbohydrate figures depending on where the label was printed. In the US, total carbohydrate includes fiber. In the EU, carbohydrate leaves fiber out and lists it on its own line. The figures on this page come from USDA data, so they include fiber, like a US label.
Chia seeds show the gap best. A tablespoon (12 g) of chia seeds has 5.1 g of carbohydrate by the US method, and 4.1 g of that is fiber. An EU label would say about 1 g. Low-carb plans call that 1 g net carbs, a term no US or EU law defines, so brands calculate it in different ways.
How Many Carbs a Day of Ordinary Meals Gives
An ordinary day from our library in usual portions, with no sports drinks or supplements.
| Meal | Food | Amount | Carbohydrates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | Oats | 40g | 27g |
| Breakfast | Banana | 120g | 27g |
| Breakfast | Milk | 250g | 12g |
| Lunch | Bread | 50g | 25g |
| Lunch | Hummus | 34g | 5.1g |
| Snack | Apple | 165g | 24g |
| Dinner | Pasta | 140g | 43g |
| Dinner | Tomatoes | 123g | 5g |
| Treat | Dark chocolate | 20g | 12g |
| Total | 180g |
That is about 36% of the calories in a 2,000 kcal day, below the EFSA range of 45 to 60%. A day like this reaches the range with a second portion of starch, such as rice or potatoes, or when the day holds fewer calories overall.
Whole Grain and Refined Carbohydrates
Refining takes the bran and germ off a grain, and with them most of the fiber, B vitamins and minerals; the starch stays. That is why the WHO advises that carbohydrate come mainly from whole grains, vegetables, fruit and pulses, and sets a separate limit for free sugars.
Common Carbohydrate Mistakes
Thinking potatoes are the carb-heavy choice. Boiled potato has 21.5 g of carbohydrate per 100 g; bread has 49.2 g. Potatoes are mostly water.
Comparing labels from two countries. A US granola and an EU granola can be the same food with different carbohydrate figures, because only one counts the fiber.
Treating all carbohydrate as sugar. Cooked lentils have 20 g of carbohydrate per 100 g, of which 1.8 g is sugar and 7.9 g fiber. The sugar page covers the part to limit.
How Many Carbs Do You Need?
The US RDA of 130 g a day is a floor. Most diets give more, and EFSA sets the usual range as a share of calories, so the grams grow with how much you eat.
| Calories a day | Carbohydrate |
|---|---|
| 1,600 kcal | 180 - 240g |
| 2,000 kcal | 225 - 300g |
| 2,500 kcal | 280 - 375g |
Carbohydrate Supplements
A few products are carbohydrate in concentrated form. They count toward the day like food.
Sports Drinks, Gels and Powders
Maltodextrin, dextrose and the sugars in sports drinks and gels are fast-digesting carbohydrate made for long endurance exercise. Outside of that, they are sugar or starch with little else, so the grams on the label are what to count.
Fiber Supplements
Psyllium and similar products are carbohydrate too, the kind the gut does not digest. They add little energy and no usable glucose; see the fiber page.
Tracking Carbohydrates in Caltide
- A goal of your ownCaltide fits your carbohydrate goal around your calorie target and protein goal, and you can change it in Settings.
- Logged automaticallyEvery food you log counts toward the day's carbohydrate, with fiber and sugars shown as their own lines in the Nutrition tab.
Carbohydrates Sources and References
The figures and claims on this page are checked against these sources. Food amounts come from USDA FoodData Central.
- National Academies: Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids (2005)
- EFSA: Scientific Opinion on Dietary Reference Values for carbohydrates and dietary fibre (2010)
- WHO: Carbohydrate intake for adults and children, WHO guideline (2023)
- USDA FoodData Central
Questions About Carbohydrates
The US RDA for adults is 130 g a day, the glucose the brain uses. Most diets give more: EFSA's range of 45 to 60% of calories is 225 to 300 g on a 2,000 kcal diet. EU food labels use 260 g as their reference. For a split based on your own goal, use the macro calculator.
In our food library, icing sugar (powdered sugar): 99.8 g per 100 g. Sugar (99.6 g) and Brown sugar (98.1 g) come next. Sugars, honey, dry noodles and grains, dried fruit and breakfast cereals lead per 100 g.
The US RDA is 130 g a day for adults, based on the glucose the brain uses on average. The body can make some glucose from protein and fat, so this is a reference for a usual diet, not a survival minimum.
Total carbohydrate minus fiber. A tablespoon of chia seeds has about 5 g of carbohydrate, of which about 4 g is fiber, so about 1 g net. The term is not defined in US or EU food law.
On US labels, yes: total carbohydrate includes fiber and sugars. On EU labels, no: carbohydrate excludes fiber, which is listed on its own line.
Cooked rice has 28 g of carbohydrate per 100 g, so a 160 g cup gives about 45 g.
No more than other calories. Carbohydrate gives about 4 kcal per gram, less than half of fat. Weight changes with total calories eaten against calories used.
A ranking of how quickly a food raises blood glucose compared with pure glucose, for the same amount of carbohydrate. Fiber, fat, protein and how a food is cooked all change it.
Track anywhere. On any device.
Your calorie counter and food diary in your pocket, free and without ads, with Tide one tap away.
- Log by photo, barcode or voice, right where you eat
- Steps and workouts from Apple Health and Health Connect
- The same log on your phone and in your browser, always in sync