White sugar, also called table sugar, granulated sugar, or regular sugar, is a commonly used type of sugar, made either of beet sugar or cane sugar, which has undergone a refining process. It is nearly pure sucrose.
Description
The refining process completely removes the molasses from cane juice or beet juice to give the disaccharide white sugar, sucrose. It has a purity higher than 99.7%.1 Its molecular formula is C12H22O11.2 White sugars produced from sugar cane and sugar beet are chemically indistinguishable: it is possible, however, to identify its origin through a carbon-13 analysis.3
White sugar (and some brown sugar) produced from sugar cane may be refined using bone char by a few sugar cane refiners.4 Beet sugar has never been processed with bone char and is vegan.5 In modern times, activated carbon and ion-exchange resin may be used – see Sugar refinery § Purification.
From a chemical and nutritional point of view, white sugar does not contain—in comparison to brown sugar—some minerals (such as calcium, potassium, iron and magnesium) present in small quantities in molasses.678 The only detectable differences are, therefore, the white color and the less intense flavor.9
Health impacts
The overconsumption of white sugar (or any sugar) brings many health consequences,10 including heart disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes. The CDC recommends limiting daily sugar consumption to less than 200 calories worth (about 12 teaspoons/48 grams) on a 2000 calorie diet.11
External links
- All about White sugar – The Spruce Eats
References
Dario Bressanini (3 June 2009). "Miti culinari 6: lo zucchero veleno bianco". Le Scienze Blog (in Italian). Retrieved 30 October 2018. http://bressanini-lescienze.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2009/06/03/miti-culinari-6-lo-zucchero-veleno-bianco/ ↩
"What is sugar?". Exploratorium. 7 March 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023. https://www.exploratorium.edu/explore/cooking/sugar#:~:text=The%20white%20stuff%20we%20know,elements%2C%20sugar%20is%20a%20carbohydrate. ↩
Dario Bressanini (3 June 2009). "Miti culinari 6: lo zucchero veleno bianco". Le Scienze Blog (in Italian). Retrieved 30 October 2018. http://bressanini-lescienze.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2009/06/03/miti-culinari-6-lo-zucchero-veleno-bianco/ ↩
"Animal Bones". www.sucrose.com. Retrieved 2019-09-19. http://www.sucrose.com/bonechar.html ↩
"A List of Bone Char Free Vegan Sugar Companies". ordinaryvegan.net. 29 March 2014. Retrieved 2019-09-19. https://ordinaryvegan.net/vegansugar/ ↩
Raffaella Procenzano (28 January 2014). "Lo zucchero bianco fa male più dello zucchero grezzo?" (in Italian). Retrieved 30 October 2018. https://www.focus.it/scienza/scienze/lo-zucchero-bianco-fa-male-piu-dello-zucchero-grezzo ↩
Anahad O'Connor (12 June 2007). "The Claim: Brown Sugar Is Healthier Than White Sugar". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 October 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/12/health/nutrition/12real.html?ei=5070&en=2c7b0deda8710630&ex=1186632000&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1186592818-8CJn9xUUuK6+4WQViP11tA&_r=0. ↩
Dario Bressanini (6 April 2009). "Miti culinari 5: le virtù dello zucchero di canna". Le Scienze Blog (in Italian). Retrieved 30 October 2018. http://bressanini-lescienze.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2009/04/06/miti-culinari-5-le-virtu-dello-zucchero-di-canna/ ↩
Dario Bressanini (6 April 2009). "Miti culinari 5: le virtù dello zucchero di canna". Le Scienze Blog (in Italian). Retrieved 30 October 2018. http://bressanini-lescienze.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2009/04/06/miti-culinari-5-le-virtu-dello-zucchero-di-canna/ ↩
CDC (2024-10-03). "Get the Facts: Added Sugars". Nutrition. Retrieved 2025-02-13. https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/php/data-research/added-sugars.html ↩
CDC (2024-10-03). "Get the Facts: Added Sugars". Nutrition. Retrieved 2025-02-13. https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/php/data-research/added-sugars.html ↩