Carbohydrates are an important part of your diet, but that doesn't mean go load up on cakes and cookies. Wouldn't that be nice!

The three main kinds of carbohydrates are sugars, starches, and fiber. They're called “simple” or “complex” based on their chemical makeup and what your body does with them, but since many foods contain one or more types of carbohydrates, it can still be tricky to understand what’s healthy for you and what’s not.

Simple carbohydrates are composed of easy-to-digest, basic sugars, which can be an important source of energy. Some of these sugars are naturally occurring, in fruits and milk, while refined or processed sugars are often added to candies, baked goods, and soda. When trying to figure out if a source of carbohydrates is good or bad, remember this: The higher in sugar it is, and the lower in fiber, vitamins, and minerals, the worse the food is for you. I know that might seem intuitive, but you'd be surprised how easily we forget this.

Complex carbohydrates, found in whole grains, legumes, and starchy vegetables, contain longer chains of sugar and usually take more time for the body to break down and use. This, in turn, provides you with an even amount of energy. You can read more about it HERE.

It's not as difficult to make the switch as you might think and these little changes add up to BIG changes. What do you think you can swap out pretty easily?