Brown sugar is produced by the juice out of sugar beet or sugar cane plants with fully refined white sugar crystals.It is a form of sucrose sugar with a unique brown colour because of molasses.
Molasses is a substance that is obtained from refining sugarcane into sugar. As there are more molasses in brown sugar, it boasts some nutritional value and mineral content.
Brown sugar is added to flavour in desserts and baked products. Globally, it is used as a substitute for maple sugar, which is a traditional sweetener popularly used in Canada, India and the USA.
Brown sugar has the property of caramelizing itself easier than refined sugar.
This brings us to the question of what is the difference between brown and white sugar?
We need to understand that sugar is a natural ingredient and has been a part of the human diet for centuries. Both white and brown sugar originates from the crop, sugarcane.
The nutritional difference between white and brown sugar is that brown sugar has a slightly higher amount of calcium, potassium and iron in it. It is because when the molasses is added to the white sugar, it gets a darker complexion and increases its nutritional value.
Which sugar to choose?
It is essential to restrict the intake of calories between 4% and 8% from sugar. Although brown sugar contains more minerals than white sugar, the difference is so minimal that they won’t provide any additional health benefits. But, It is also very important to consider that sugar is a major contributing factor for Type 2 diabetes, Obesity and Heart diseases.
What are the benefits of brown sugar?
Brown sugar offers the following health benefits
- It helps in digestion and gives instant energy.
- It is used in smoothening creams and anti-ageing skin treatments
- It is believed to contain antioxidants and helps to increase the cell regeneration.
- It may also help relieve menstrual cramps.
- In some cases, people believe that brown sugar when mixed with water, cures asthma as it reduces the inflammatory symptoms of asthma.
To sum up
White sugar and brown sugar are the two most commonly found varieties in the market. Brown sugars can be better than white sugar as it gives rich flavor, taste, colour and has few nutritional benefits compared to white sugar.
It is important to understand that taking in any type of sugar should be limited for better health, as sugar is harmful to the body in many ways. So, consulting a Dietician for proper advice and understanding the needs of an individual is important.
