Nutrient glossary
What is carbohydrates?
Carbohydrates are the body’s main fuel, covering everything from oats and fruit to sugar, and they include fibre.
Reviewed 20 July 2026. General information, not medical advice.
The short version
Carbohydrate is a family, not one thing. Starches in bread, rice, potatoes and oats break down to glucose, the fuel your brain and muscles prefer. Sugars occur naturally in fruit and milk and are added to processed food. Fibre is also a carbohydrate, one your body cannot digest, which is exactly why it is valuable.
Quality matters more than the total. Whole grains, beans and fruit bring fibre, vitamins and minerals along with their carbohydrate. Refined versions bring mostly the glucose.
Daily reference
315 g a day
UK guidance suggests about half of your energy from carbohydrate: roughly 310 g a day on the 2,500 kcal reference used here, and scaled to your own energy in the app.
This is the fixed adult reference used across these pages. In the app, your amount adjusts to your body and way of eating.
Best food sources of carbohydrates
| Food | Per serving | Per 100g |
|---|---|---|
| Pizza (cheese) | 71 g | 33 g |
| Pasta (cooked) | 62 g | 31 g |
| Bagel | 55 g | 52 g |
| Brown Rice (cooked) | 50 g | 26 g |
| Red Lentils | 38 g | 63 g |
| Granola | 36 g | 64 g |
| Pitta Bread | 33 g | 56 g |
| Rye Bread | 31 g | 48 g |
Common questions
- Are carbohydrates fattening?
- No single macronutrient is. Total energy over time decides weight change; carbohydrate quality decides how full and well-fuelled you feel along the way.
- What is the difference between carbs and net carbs?
- Net carbs are total carbohydrate minus fibre: the digestible part. Nutrigate always derives net carbs from those two numbers rather than trusting a separate figure.