If you’re making a grain-based starch choice, higher carbs embrace entire grains, like barley, quinoa, whole-grain couscous, whole-wheat pasta, and brown rice, as a substitute of refined white pasta and white rice. Through the strategy of refining grains (these embrace white flour and white rice), vitamins and fiber from the bran and germ are misplaced, in line with Oldways Entire Grains Council.

The carb rely is usually related. In keeping with the USDA, 1 cup of cooked quinoa accommodates 39.4 g of carbohydrates, whereas 1 cup of prompt white rice accommodates about 44.2 grams of carbohydrates. Nevertheless, quinoa has protein, nutritional vitamins, minerals, and fiber not present in white rice.

To make sure you’re buying entire grain, search for the Entire Grain Stamp or select meals that checklist “entire grain [name of grain],” “entire wheat,” or “stone-ground entire [name of grain]” on the substances label, the Council advises. Brown rice, oats, and wheatberries are additionally whole-grain merchandise.

One other tip: You may sluggish the rise in blood sugar that outcomes from consuming grains (even entire grains). “Anytime you may add slow-digested vitamins to a meal, it might assist to sluggish the speed at which carbohydrates are transformed into sugar and absorbed into the bloodstream,” says Palinski-Wade. Add unsaturated fat, protein, or extra fiber to a meal with grains. That would imply, for instance, including sliced avocado, nonstarchy veggies, and cubed hen breast to a bowl of brown rice, she suggests.