Sugar

Food · Pantry & Condiment · Food, Typed Supps

Raw, brown and white sugar are the same thing with different amounts of molasses on the outside.

Stage by stage

Intake (Dissolves and feeds oral bacteria): Sucrose dissolves instantly and is fermented by plaque bacteria to enamel-eroding acid.
Stomach (No digestion required): Nothing slows emptying — pure sugar leaves the stomach faster than almost any other food.
Small intestine (Sucrase splits to glucose and fructose): Brush-border sucrase splits the molecule; glucose and fructose are absorbed by separate routes.
Liver and tissues (Fructose metabolism and storage): Glucose drives an insulin response; fructose is processed in the liver and surplus energy is stored.

Time to effect

Under an hour: Blood glucose rises within roughly 15 to 30 minutes when sugar is eaten on its own.

Allergens

None of the fourteen major allergens. Derived from what this food is, not from a product label.

Eating patterns

Fits: Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Halal, Kosher, Gluten-free. Depends on the product: Low-FODMAP.

Satiety

Not scored: the satiety index is measured on 240 kcal servings, and nobody eats a 240 kcal serving of this. The question does not apply rather than the answer being unknown.

Environmental footprint

3.2 kg CO2e and 202 litres of freshwater per kg, matched to "Cane sugar" in Poore & Nemecek (2018), Science 360.

Cost band

Cheap — roughly £1.5 per kg, as a band midpoint rather than a price.

Key nutrients

Sucrose
Carbohydrate energy

Nutrition per 100g

Calories: 382
Protein: 0g
Carbohydrate: 99.8g
of which sugars: 99.8g
Fat: 0g
of which saturated: 0g
Fibre: 0g
Sodium: 1mg

Food vs. supplement

Not a supplement question, but the substitution question is worth answering plainly: honey, agave, coconut sugar, maple syrup and rice malt syrup are all free sugars and all count against the same target. Non-nutritive sweeteners avoid the energy and the dental effect and have been assessed as safe at approved intakes, but the WHO has advised against using them as a weight-control strategy, on the basis that long-term benefit has not been demonstrated.

Kitchen tip

Choose by function rather than health claim. Raw and demerara sugars have larger crystals and hold their crunch on top of a bake; caster dissolves into creamed butter without grittiness; brown sugar's molasses adds acidity and moisture, which matters in recipes leavened with bicarbonate of soda. Most baking recipes tolerate a reduction of a quarter to a third in sugar before texture suffers.

Common myth

“Raw sugar is a more natural, less processed choice than white sugar.” In reality: Raw sugar is refined sugar carrying a thin film of molasses. It is 99.8% sucrose, the same as white, and its trace minerals are present in quantities too small to matter at any sane intake. The same applies to coconut sugar, rice malt syrup and honey — all are free sugars, and all count the same way.