Is brown sugar really much healthier than white?

During the last few years, a battle against sugar.

Brown or white sugar? Which is the healthiest? According to the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU), there are almost no nutritional differences between the two sugars.

Where you can see nuances is in the taste and the labeling and many producers or chefs are looking to take the place of the sweetener with healthier alternatives, less caloric or, simply, less addictive.

One of the options that more prominence has gained brown sugar has been a “healthy alternative” to white sugar.

This brown product has positioned itself on the market as more striking and of better quality in the eyes of the consumer. However, the differences between the two sugars are not as significant as previously thought.

What is the origin of brown sugar?

White sugar is obtained, by chemical processes, from beets. In this way, the sucrose is extracted and crystallized. At this point, it is important to remember that sugar is not glucose (the sugar in our blood), but rather sucrose, the union of glucose and fructose.

In turn, the Brown sugar can be obtained by 2 different methods. The first, known as dyeing sugar, consists of mix white sugar with molasses cane.

On the other hand, the second involves a crystallization, very similar to that of white sugar. Of course, in this case, molasses is not removed from the cane, although the rest of the impurities are.

To the rescue: OCU clears up doubts about brown sugar

La Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) points out that there are 2 types of brown sugar: dry brown and whole brown. Despite what you may think or have been led to believe, the brown sugar is almost never whole.

As a consequence, the Brown sugar which does bear the integral label is the one that makes your pocket suffer the most. Therefore, it is essential to read the labels of products that read “with cane sugar” well, since unless it is indicated that it is made with whole brown sugar, it is probably refined white sugar.

For the brown sugar can be considered wholeThis component had to be obtained directly from the clean sugar cane juices. Of course, as indicated by the OCU, the only The difference between the two types of brown sugar is only of a gustatory and aromatic type..

From a chemical point of view, the white sugar has 99% sucrose or pure sugar, while the tan ranges between 85% and 95% sucrose. Of course, according to the manufacturer, the remaining percentage can be water or trace minerals such as calcium, iron, potassium, or magnesium.

In the end, the calls alternatives to sugar are still sugar. For example, the honey, which would be the most natural alternative, still contains 85% pure sugar, as it is made up of sugar, water and trace amounts of nutrients.

Either way, the OCU remembers that overdoing it with any type of sugar causes overweight and obesity, a disease present in almost half of Spanish children.

This physical state does not remain in aesthetic problems, but is related to cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

So, you know, the best thing is moderation.