3. Results
The 24 foods analysed fell into distinct categories with respect
to the proportions of the three carbohydrate fractions, RAC, SDS
and IDS, that they contained (Fig. 1). Highly processed cereal based
foods, including breakfast cereals and bakery products, were characterised
by a high proportion of RAC, a lower proportion of SDS,
and very little IDS. Minimally processed whole grain cereal foods,
including muesli, porridge and pearl barley, and highly processed
but solid cereal products represented by the pastas contained a
higher ratio of SDS to RAC – approximately equal proportions of
RAC and SDS – but contributed very little IDS. Lastly, the legumiaceous
pulses were quite distinct as they contained a very low proportion
of RAC, the greatest proportion of their available
carbohydrate was SDS, and a higher proportion of it was IDS than
in the other foods (Fig. 2)