What kind of foods are carbohydrate free?

Germany

Almost all natural foods contain carbohydrates. The only food group which is free of carbohydrates is pure vegetable oil. Even milk products contain carbohydrates, it is a kind of sugar called lactose. Fish and meat have a real low carbohydrates content. Every food else like cereal, pulses, potatoes, fruit and vegetables contain starch, sugars or fibre, which all belong to the group of carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates are one of the three major macro-nutrients which supply the body with energy (fat and protein being the others). There is now good evidence that at least 55% of our daily calories should come from carbohydrates. Whereas it is important to maintain an appropriate balance between calorie intake and expenditure, scientific studies suggest that:

• A diet containing an optimum level of carbohydrates may help prevent body fat accumulation
• Starch and sugars provide readily accessible fuel for physical performance
• Dietary fibre, which is a carbohydrate, helps keep the bowel functioning correctly

You find food tables with the carbohydrate content in books and brochures about diabetes, a disorder of metabolism with a too high blood glucose level.