Sweet Indigestion by Peggy Brickman

Part II—Label Analysis

The girls checked out a nutrition textbook and learned that almost all of the foods they were eating contained carbohydrates. But how much gas is produced in your intestine depends on the type of bacteria you are harboring and whether or not you eat the following carbohydrates that aren’t well digested.

Gwen’s list of carbohydrates that aren’t well digested:

• Simple sugars:
  
  • Dried beans, peas, and lentils containing the tri- and quatro-saccharides Raffinose and Stachyose
  • Lactose
  • Fructose
  • Sorbitol, found in fruit but also an artificial sweetener
• Starches
• Insoluble fiber

Analyze the PowerBar® food label below and then answer the questions that follow.

Questions

1. What percentage of the carbohydrates in the bar is simple sugar?
2. Can the girls omit all carbohydrates that are not well digested (like those in Gwen’s list) from their diet? What are these carbohydrates used for?
3. What are the differences between simple sugars, starches, and fiber?
4. Use this PowerBar label to find all the ingredients that are carbohydrates of the following classes:
   
   • Simple sugars
   • Complex carbohydrates like starches
   • Complex carbohydrates that contain fiber
   • Carbohydrates that would produce gas according to the list

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