The difference between white sugar and brown sugar from whole cane

We need to limit both white sugar and brown sugar, although you may have heard that brown sugar is better. While brown sugar may contain more essential nutrients than white sugar, what is sold today as brown sugar is not necessarily healthy..

The discussion on whether to take brown sugar, also known as integral sugar, or refined sugar, is not really necessary. It is true that brown sugar is a little healthier, but in no case is it healthy, nor can it be used for weight loss purposes when replacing white sugar with brown sugar.

The difference is based on the refining process, a process that is carried out to obtain sucrose.. Sucrose is a disaccharide composed of a glucose molecule and a fructose molecule, and is obtained from sugar cane or sugar beet.

In the refining process of white sugar, impurities are removed, which, however, are harmless to health. Impurities contain minerals and vitaminsbut in very small proportions. In contrast, brown sugar is extracted from sugar cane juice without further refining and thus retains the properties of the sugar cane. from which it is derived.

But these extra nutrients in brown sugar are irrelevant because they are present in low quantities and are provided by other foods in a healthy diet. It should be noted, however, that molasses or honey have more minerals than these sugars and are therefore more nutritious than them.

Actually, what is sold as brown sugar is nothing more than refined white sugar to which molasses extract is added. to give it a distinctive colour and flavour.

What is Brown Sugar?

Brown sugar is simply white sugar mixed with molasses.. Therefore, brown sugar can keep its wet gritty form, while white sugar cannot. Raw sugar is also generally brown in colour, and is formed when the sugar cane juice evaporates. However, many people refer to brown sugar as granulated white sugar with molasses added to it.

Is brown sugar really better?

Molasses and brown sugar contain more essential nutrients than white sugar, so choosing brown sugar over white is technically healthier.. For example, a tablespoon of molasses is a good source of dietary potassium - and provides small amounts of calcium, magnesium and B vitamins. However, the amount of these essential nutrients obtained from brown sugar is very small and does little to help us meet our daily nutrient needs.. In addition, like white sugar, molasses and brown sugar are added sugars that should be limited as much as possible in the diet to avoid unwanted weight gain and increased risk of chronic diseases.

Calorie content

Brown sugar and white sugar contain approximately the same number of calories per serving.. One teaspoon of filled brown sugar provides 17 calories and one teaspoon of white sugar contains 16 calories, according to the US Department of Agriculture's National Nutrient Database. So, if you are thinking about ways to cut calories, choosing brown sugar over white sugar is not beneficial.

How much sugar is too much?

To maximise your health and reduce the risks of unwanted weight gain and chronic disease, limit added sugars - including white sugar, brown sugar and molasses - as much as possible, suggests the American Heart Association (AHA).. The AHA recommends that most women limit added sugars to 100 calories or less per day, and men eat no more than 150 calories of added sugar daily. One gram of sugar provides 4 calories.

Sugar is a major source of calories in the modern diet, and they are empty calories. without a supply of minerals or vitamins. Therefore, for a healthy diet, it is best to consume as little sugar as possible. And we already know that it is a great temptation that we cannot overcome, so it is best to limit it.

One of the benefits of brown sugar, the real stuff, is that it is rich in alkaline mineral salts. which help us to alkalinise our PHY, which is healthy because our blood PH is often too acidic.

As we have already said when talking about the sugar and sweetenersSince sugar is present as an ingredient in most foods, special attention should be paid to sugar intake. Large amounts of sugar are dangerous to human health. In fact, refined sugar is one of the worst foods you can eat.. Care must be taken when choosing an alternative, because some can actually be worse than sugar, including some sweeteners that are widely considered to be healthy, but are actually the opposite.

On the other hand, we must bear in mind that sugar is acidifying, and therefore acidifies our internal pH, and let us remember that all chronic diseases are always maintained by an acid pH, especially cancer.

The best way to use sugar in a very nutritious way and with fewer calories, is the panela.

And if we want to sweeten and not have problems with pH and calories, we recommend the stevia, a plant that has 200 times more sweetening power than sugar. However, it does not provide us with any nutrients.