Why do grains have so many more carbs than other plant foods, like nuts or lettuce?

Question

Googling isn’t helping, because the results are all from health and diet pages. I’m trying to find a science answer.

[Request] Please try and actually explain this to a 5-10yo. I have a kid in that age range who’s the one actually asking the question. I can do my best to bring an “I graduated high school” answer down to his level, but I might struggle to bring an “I’ve completed some college and have a basic background in biochemistry” answer to his level. Thanks!

In: 62

Answer 1

The carbs in food are not there for people who eat the food. The carbs in food are to make the plant more successful at spreading in its environment. Humans have selectively bred plants, and occasionally tampered with their genome, to get more carbohydrates into those grain elements. That’s because people want to grow them to eat them. The current domesticated food plants are not “natural”, so in that sense the reason is “so humans can get more nutrition from it”. In the natural version of the plant, the reason was “because seeds equipped with that carbohydrate survive to reproduce more effectively”; but sometimes “evolution” isn’t the answer people are looking for.

Answer 2

The carbs in food are not there for people who eat the food. The carbs in food are to make the plant more successful at spreading in its environment. Humans have selectively bred plants, and occasionally tampered with their genome, to get more carbohydrates into those grain elements. That’s because people want to grow them to eat them. The current domesticated food plants are not “natural”, so in that sense the reason is “so humans can get more nutrition from it”. In the natural version of the plant, the reason was “because seeds equipped with that carbohydrate survive to reproduce more effectively”; but sometimes “evolution” isn’t the answer people are looking for.