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 char- acterised 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 legumia- ceous pulses were quite distinct as they contained a very low pro- portion 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).