ABSTRACT
The Canadian Nutrition Recommendations published in 1990 by Health Canada refer to the benefits of diets high in complex carbohydrates, defined essentially as starches. For the purposes of food labeling claims in Canada the term “complex carbohydrates” is permitted and has been taken to mean only starch which is the term used on the nutrition label itself. In other jurisdictions, the term “complex carbohydrates” has been taken to mean either starches or starches plus dietary fiber. Thus, the term is a source of confusion, is difficult to define in a manner that can be verified analytically and has little scientific meaning for many scientists and lay people alike (1, 2). There is a need to simplify and more clearly define in chemical terms what is meant by the advice to consume foods high in complex carbohydrates. It is time to re-think the use of this chemically undefined term and we suggest that “complex carbohydrate” be replaced by the terms starch and dietary fiber.
