Is it true that brown sugar is more useful than white?

On the benefits of brown - or reed - sugar are written on sitesdedicated to the healthy nutrition, Eco-products, style life, Cooking. Some sellers of such sugar They saythat it contains 1.5 times less calories than in ordinary white, which means there is it Can Even on a diet. Other They convince buyers that brown sugar strengthens their teeth. Write about the benefits of reed sugar and Bloggers on "Yandex.Zen".

The most common view in Russia Sahara - refined (that is, cleaned) beet. As the name implies, it is made of sugar beets: the juice is removed, it is cleaned of impurities (they give it an unpleasant taste and smell), then heated to a thick syrup state and it is already crystallized to the state of sand. About the same Produce and reed sugar. However, unlike beetroot, reed can not be cleaned and eaten in unrefined form - its impurities are pleasant to taste. They give it a characteristic golden color. Refined reed sugar is the same white as beet, and generally no different from it. Therefore, all allegations of the benefits of sugar from reed concern only its unrefined variety.

The opinion about the greater benefits of reed sugar arose precisely due to the fact that it passed less than the processing stages, and therefore is more natural. Indeed, in brown sugar Contained Significantly more vitamins, as well as micro and macroelements. For example, 83 mg Calcium per 100 grams against everything 1 mg In white. But only if you consume sugar in recommended Dietetologists of quantities, the concentration of nutrients will still be so small that the body will not notice the difference at all. So, daily norm The same calcium for an adult is 1000 mg. To dial it from sugar - even brown - you need to eat it more than a kilogram. With a recommended maximum of 50 grams. As you can see, sugar - whatever color it is - is clearly not the product that should be consumed for the sake of useful substances.

And by the way, the higher calcium content in reed sugar in no way does not affect On tooth health: the risk of caries in people who use reed sugar, such The same, like those who prefer white.

If we talk about calorie content, then the differences are minimal: in reed sugar - 375 kilocalories per 100 grams, in ordinary refined - 385. It is unlikely that the difference of 10 kcal allows you to count brown sugar with a more dietary product.

Excessive use of reed sugar can cause Cardiovascular diseases, obesity, even Cancer - In this, he is no better than his white fellow. Him just the same necessary Limit people with diabetes (both white and brown sugar are almost completely made of sucrose, have the same glycemic index). And we are already They wrote The fact that sugar is addictive. Unfortunately, unrefined reed - no exception.

However, there is a difference between these types of sugar - in their organoleptic properties. The taste of white and brown sugars is really slightly different: the first is sweeter, has a aftertaste of burning sugar, the second has a sweeter sweet, fruit aroma and sweet aftertaste are present. Accordingly, different types of sugar have a little different effect on the taste of the food to which they are added. Depends on the color of sugar and the appearance of the final product, for example, meringue - for it it is better to take white sweeteners.

The type of sugar can affect texture Product - especially with baking. Brown sugar retains moisture, if you add it to cookies, it will turn out to be more wet and dense, and with white sugar - air and dry.

In Russia, reeds are not growing, but reed sugar is sold - and it is quite expensive. Because of this, you can run into the supermarket Fake: ordinary beet refined sugar, tinted Pathois or even some other unknown dyes may not be the most useful. To prevent this from happening, it is recommended to buy sugar produced in those regions where the reed grows. On the packaging, “unrefined reed sugar” should be written (because sometimes it is refined, and then tinted back). And the sugar itself should have a caramel aroma that does not have a purified one.

Thus, there is no significant difference between brown and white sugar in terms of influence on health. Unrefined reed sugar contains more vitamins and other beneficial substances, but it is still not enough for this to benefit the body. But they are harmful in exactly the same: abuse of sugar of any color leads to obesity, caries, cardiovascular and other diseases. So there is a point in overpaying for more expensive reed sugar only if you like its taste more. He has no other significant advantages over white.