Sugars 101

This is some research I did to better understand the differences in sweeteners. 

 

XOXO

 

 

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NATURAL SUGARS

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Fructose:  ripened fruit sugar, honey sugar, most sweet of all the natural sugars, low glycemic index (breaks down slowly), resulting in a slow release of sugar, rather than a sudden rush, recommended for diabetics.

 

Dextrose (aka Glucose):  main energy source for the body, another name for glucose, some food packagers like to use "dextrose" on their packaging instead of "glucose" because they believe that people have negative associations with glucose. Found in numerous plant and animal tissues, often works along with other sugars such as fructose. The body relies on glucose for energy, using this sugar to power cells. When people measure their blood sugar, they are actually measuring the amount of dissolved glucose in the blood.

 

Lactose:  naturally occurring sugar in milk, "lactose intolerant" means the body doesn't digest this sugar properly.

 

Maltose:  naturally occurring sugar in grains.

 

Natural Maple Syrup:  Combination of fructose and glucose is the most prevalent sugar in natural maple syrup.  (Did you know it takes 10 gallons of sap to make 1 quart of syrup?  Find a local, natural source, it tastes so much better than the junky processed syrup in the supermarket.  Read the ingredients.)

 

Stevia, Honey, Agave Nectar:  ok, these not a sugars at all, but are natural alternatives to sugar!  We use agave as our main sweetener.

 

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PROCESSED SUGARS

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To make sugar, sugar cane is cut and then run through a press to extract the juice. Once the juice has been extracted, it is boiled and then cooled, allowing it to crystallize. At this stage it has a high molasses content and is sold as raw sugar. Further processing makes it into white sugar and brown sugar.

 

 

Raw Sugar:  Same as white sugar but as not as heavily refined and processed so some of the naturally occurring molasses from the sugarcane is still in it.

 

White Sugar (aka Sucrose): is when the fructose and glucose/dextrose molecules are combined, an enemy to your intestines and body, high glycemic index (breaks down quickly), refined from cane or beet juice by stripping away all its vitamins, minerals, protein, fiber, water, and other synergists. 

 

Brown Sugar:  same as refined white sugar above with some molasses spun back into it for color and flavor, depending on the process.

 

Corn Syrup:  Fructose and glucose, made by processing cornstarch. (Light corn syrup has been further clarified to remove all color.)

 

High Fructose Corn Syrup:  Is corn syrup that has been further processed to make it sweeter by increasing the fructose (which is sweeter than glucose).  Uses an enzymatic processing process.  HFCS is sweeter than corn syrup, which is why you find it in so many foods both processed and fast food, and especially sodas (the corn syrup isn't sweet enough to be used in sodas).

 

Processed Maple Syrup:  Corn syrup and/or HFCS, artifical flavors, colors, etc. Yuk.

 

Artificial Sweetners:  ie Splenda, not even spending a minute of time on this one.  It's evil.

 

Cane Juice:  Evaporated cane juice is a healthy alternative to refined sugar. While both sweeteners are made from sugar cane, evaporated cane juice does not undergo the same degree of processing that refined sugar does. Therefore, unlike refined sugar, it retains more of the nutrients found in sugar cane.  In lots of organic food as the sugar replacement.

 

 

XOXO