[raw brown sugar]In nutrition, sugar is the common term for simple carbohydrates, structured with only one or two basic carb units such as glucose, fructose, and galactose.
But consumers often use "sugar" to describe everything that tastes sweet. But in fact, not all sugars are sweet and not all sugary is sugar.
Which type of sugar is best?
Several studies have reported side effects of white sugar and high fructose corn syrup on human health. So, what should we replace these sugars with?
Sweetness and sugar content
Some sugars like honey and Agave syrup are higher in fructose. Fructose is sweeter than glucose and sucrose. Therefore, if you replace white sugar with honey and Agave syrup you would only need to use a smaller amount to achieve the same sweetness. However, because honey and syrup have higher water content. So the sugar content in it turns out to be less than the equivalent weight of white sugar.
Anti-oxidant
Depending on the level of processing and refining, sugars retain different amounts of minerals and compounds. These compounds have antioxidant capabilities, reducing cellular damage in the body causing a number of chronic diseases. In the white sugar, they are all removed.
Although the antioxidant content of dates and molasses is many times higher than white sugar and corn syrup, it is still relatively low compared to other antioxidant-rich foods. For example, you need to drink more than 500g of dates or molasses to have the same amount of antioxidants in a cup (145g) of blueberries.
Antibacterial properties
Honey has been reported to have the ability to kill many germs, due to the presence of some natural compounds capable of doing so. However, we still do not know how to collect and create antibacterial properties similar to honey for other sugars.
In the end, the sugar that enters our bodies is still the way. So while honey, raw sugar, dates, and molasses are "better" than white sugar and other sugars, everyone should try to reduce their sugar intake.
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