Not all carbohydrates are processed equally. Complex starches are more difficult to break down in the gut and are absorbed slower often for the better. Some don

Not all carbohydrates are processed equally. Complex starches are more difficult to break down in the gut and are absorbed slower often for the better. Some don't break down much like sorbitol. Most digestible carbohydrates eventually break down to glucose and fructose. The key insight here is that fructose is very different from glucose as it is processed primarily in the liver and converted to triglycerides - which is seen as a more problematic fat in the bloodstream. Since fructose does not contribute directly to blood sugar levels for a while it was recommended for diabetics to switch from glucose to fructose. Turns out the latter is not so good from an inflammation perspective, liver/body fat perspective, digestive perspective and perversely blood sugar regulation perspective. Sadly even that old fructose is ok for diabetics has not fully vanished. The medical establishment (like any establishment I guess) is slow to change. Speeding up the publication, curation and dissemination of such information may be IT's main contribution to human health.