Dietary guidelines indicate that complex carbohydrates should provide around half of the calories in a balanced diet, while sugars (i.e., simple carbohydrates) should be limited to no more than 5-10% of total energy intake. To achieve this public health goal a collective effort from different entities including governments, food & beverage industries and consumers is required. Some food companies have committed to continually reduce sugars in their products. Different solutions can be used to replace sugars in food products but it is important to ensure that these solutions are more healthful than the sugars they replace. The objectives of this paper are, (1) to identify carbohydrates and carbohydrates sources to promote and those to limit for dietary intake and food product development, based on current knowledge about the impact of carbohydrates on the development of dental caries, obesity and cardio-metabolic disorders (2) to evaluate the impact of food processing on the quality of carbohydrates and (3) to highlight the challenges of developing healthier products due to the limitations and gaps in food regulations, science & technology and consumer education.
Keywords: Cardiovascular diseases; Dental caries; Food formulation & processing; Obesity; Type 2 diabetes.