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White sugar is the
commonest sweetener used in our daily life. From morning coffees to evening
tea, sugar plays a very crucial role in our cuisine. But the sweet lifestyle is
also the main reason for increase in obesity, diabetes and other health
problems among us.
"brown sugar is not healthier than white sugar, as the mineral content is very little to have any beneficial effect"
Sugar is made out of sugar beet, a type of plant which
contains a thick syrup that’s converted to sugar. Refinery processes remove
molasses (a dark brown by product) and the thick dark syrup is converted to
white sugar. If the molasses is left in the mixture, then brown sugars are
made.
Brown Sugar VS White
Sugar
The difference between White Sugar and Brown Sugar is the
refinery process involved as mentioned. Brown sugar has some molasses left,
while white sugar is well refined.
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In terms of nutrient
content, brown sugar has more minerals compared to white sugar. Thanks to
molasses it has iron, magnesium and other mineral whereas white sugar has none.
Calorie value of both types of sugar are the same. So, one teaspoon of white
sugar gives same amount of energy as white sugar, and increases blood sugar
level equally.
Essentially, brown sugar is not healthier than white sugar,
as the mineral content is very little to have any beneficial effect.
Alternatives to sugar
Honey
Is honey a healthier alternative to sugar?
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The short answer is no.
Honey contains sugar too. Before the
creation of sugar from sugar beets or sugarcane, honey was used as sweeteners.
The calorie value of honey is almost similar to sugar, if not more depending on
the manufacturing process. But honey also contains many vitamins especially
Vitamin B and minerals such as calcium.
"The calorie value of honey is almost similar to sugar, if not more depending on the manufacturing process"
So, adding honey instead of sugar might give the additional
benefits of vitamins and minerals but it does not make much difference in terms
of calorie and the rise in blood sugar level.
Thus honey is not a good
alternative for people with diabetes or those who want to prevent diabetes.
Artificial sugar
Artificial sugars such as saccharin and aspartame (Equal
brand) are commonly used as sugar alternatives. How does it work?
Artificial sugars are not absorbed in our gut, thus it
carries zero calorie. It does not cause an increase in blood sugar level.
Aspartame has been
heavily used until studies suggested the linkage between artificial sugars and
cancers, especially bladder cancer and blood cancers such as leukemia.
Association of bladder cancer in rats with saccharin (a type of artificial
sugar) was first reported in 1978 by Reuber MD.
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He reported that high dose of
saccharin leads to bladder cancer in rats. In response to this, the US Congress
mandated that saccharin carries a hazard label stating it’s possibly hazardous
for consumption at that time.
But
many other studies fail to prove the same among humans. It was found that rats
respond to chemicals in the urine differently than human, so humans have no
risk of bladder cancer when saccharin is consumed.
What about Aspartame?
Heavy artificial sweetener use (>1680 mg per day) leads to an increased relative risk of 1.3 for bladder cancer in humans
Aspartame is the common artificial
sugar used in brands like Equal. Aspartame has been linked with blood cancers
previously but many subsequent studies have failed proof that claim. A review on artificial sugars in Annals of
Oncology concluded that there is no risk of cancer by using Aspartame or Saccharin
as artificial sugar.
But the author also warned that “Heavy artificial
sweetener use (>1680 mg per day) leads to an increased relative risk of 1.3
for bladder cancer in humans” but no specific artificial sweetener can be identified as the culprit. For
comparison, one packet of Equal brand artificial sugar contains 1000mg of
sugar. FDA recommends us not to take more than 40mg/kg of aspartame.
According to American Cancer Society, after looking at several strong researches, people who drink aspartame containing beverages did not have increased risk of cancers.
According to American Cancer Society, after looking at several strong researches, people who drink aspartame containing beverages did not have increased risk of cancers.
So, the studies are controversial. Most say it’s harmless,
some say it’s harmful.
But are they
beneficial? Not many scientists agree that it is. For example, Swithers SE in
Appetite journal argue that artificial sugar is not the answer to reducing the
prevalence of obesity among children.
He claims that artificial sweeteners will
lead to overeating as people won’t be worried about adverse effects of
sweetened food or beverage anymore. A
team of scientists recently discovered that artificial sweeteners can actually
lead to diabetes by causing changes to the bacteria that live in our digestive
tracts.
This is supported by Taylor Feehley from University of Chicago, who
wrote a commentary piece on this issue. She mentions that “artificial sugar consumption correlated with disease
markers linked to obesity, such as elevated fasting blood-glucose levels and
impaired glucose tolerance”. Both are related to diabetes mellitus.
In conclusion, there is no evidence based healthier
alternatives to sugar. Honey and brown sugar are often called as natural
sweeteners and people assume it’s healthier than white sugar. It is not.
Artificial sweeteners on the other hand do provide zero calorie sweetness but
it’s safety is very controversial, till today.
The best method would be to
reduce the amount of sugar in our food and be mindful of what we consume. We
must keep in mind high carbohydrate diet also be converted to sugar in our
body. So, even if we go sugar-free, we still need to keep in mind on how much
carbohydrate we consume per day.
For further reading
1.
FDA Article on Artificial sweeteners
2.
Review on Annals of Oncology on artificial
sweeteners
3.
Artificial Sweeteners linked to change in gut
microbiota
4.
Artificial Sugars and Childhood obesity
5.
American
Cancer Society on Aspartame
6.
Commentary on artificial sweetener
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