At first glance, there is almost no nutritional difference between brown sugar and white sugar.
Excessive sugar intake can cause development or worsening of the disease such as diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. For this reason, the WHO (World Health Organization) recommends a maximum sugar intake of 25 grams per day. And while it may seem easy to consume just this much sugar, But the truth is Many times we don’t know what not. We just consume the sugar that we add to our food to make it sweet. But we must also consider added sugars in the foods we consume.
More and more people Try to control your sugar intake in your diet. However, we must not only consider the amount but also the quantity. But quality must also be taken into account. It can be said that in the market you can find most of them. There are two types of sugar: white sugar and brown sugar.Brown sugar has been believed to be healthier for some time than white sugar. This is because brown sugar must go through a more refined process. But at the nutritional level Both types of sugar provide the same things to our bodies.
How to produce sugar
White sugar and brown sugar go through the same production process. except for the last step This makes white sugar and brown sugar somewhat different. Most types of sugar sold come from two factories: sugar cane and beetroot. To start making sugar Sugarcane or beetroot is washed and chopped. Then use a process similar to the soaking process. Then the nectar, which is mostly sucrose, is extracted.
In addition to having a lot of sucroseJuice extracted from sugarcane or beetroot also contains many substances that can be harmful to sugar. Therefore, other compounds They are often added where unwanted substances come together and end up remaining at the bottom of the water. At that time, these substances are removed through a separation and filtration process. This process of separating certain substances from the juice also serves to prevent the growth of bacteria.
Once the unwanted substances have been removed There will be water with sucrose remaining. At this time, the mixture will be heated until all the water has evaporated. This causes sucrose to form a type of crystal. In this process, the portion of sucrose that contains the impurities does not crystallize and instead of crystallizing, it caramelizes and darkens in color, creating what is called? It is also known as molasses..
in the production of white sugar Molasses is completely eliminated through various industrial processes. However, in the production of brown sugar, Later processes These were not executed. And most of the molasses is left behind. The presence of molasses gives brown sugar a different color, aroma, and taste from white sugar.
Differences and similarities between white sugar and brown sugar.
Although white sugar is the most widely available and used in the largest quantities both in industry and at home, As we have seen, there is almost no difference between the production of white sugar and brown sugar. Except for the latter type of sugar which contains molasses and Alfers. It was completely removed. For this reason, at the nutritional level Both sugars are 85% or more sucrose and both provide 4 calories. for each gram
Most of all types of sugar sold come from two types of plants: sugarcane and beetroot.The nutrients in the two types of sugar differ only slightly. Brown sugar is less processed and refined than white sugar. Therefore, nutrients are better preserved. The molasses that is made into brown sugar provides B vitamins. The same goes for minerals such as calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium that white sugar lacks. However, the amount of vitamins and minerals present in brown sugar is so low that the consumption of this sugar must be increased excessively in order for these nutrients to contribute. our body However, this increased sugar intake is also harmful to our health due to its high sucrose content..
Another element that must be taken into account when choosing to consume white sugar or brown sugar is that most brown sugar on the market is just white sugar with molasses extract added, so it has gone through the same process as rich white sugar. Go with only white sugar. Minimal amounts of B vitamins and minerals. In addition, brown sugar due to molasses White sugar has a more bitter taste. Therefore, the role of sweeteners is less because they do not provide much sweetness to the drinks and foods that we add to them. This can be a trap because you may add more brown sugar to achieve the same level of sweetness that you would achieve with less white sugar.
Brown sugar is slightly healthier than white sugar.In conclusion, we can deduce that there is almost no nutritional difference in terms of brown sugar and white sugar. Due to the amount of nutrients available, it can be said that Brown sugar is slightly healthy. More than white sugar But the truth is that on the market you can find products that replace these sugars and are much healthier. Examples of these sugar substitutes include stevia, honey, agave syrup, or panel.
However, for those who want to continue sweetening their food and drinks with sugar. It should be remembered that the amount recommended by the WHO should not be exceeded, and although brown sugar is slightly healthier than white sugar, Both types of sugar are bad for our health if consumed in excess.