Can you identify the sugar in commercially prepared foods? You may be surprised at just how many unfamiliar guises it comes under. Before discovering how sugar can affect our health, it is important to identify the different types of sugars. The following lists outline many of the different types, starting with the more familiar and ending with those most commonly found in commercially prepared foods.
Refined Cane/Beet Sugar 
- Caster
- Granulated
- Light Brown
- Dark Brown
- Demerara
- Icing Sugar
- Golden Syrup
- Black Treacle
Unrefined Cane Sugar
Unrefined beet sugar doesn't exist because it is unpalatable.
- Golden Granulated
- Golden Caster
- Golden Icing Sugar
- Demerara
- Light Muscovado
- Dark Muscovado
- Molasses
- Jaggery - dark Indian sugar made from unrefined cane sugar juice
Natural Sugars
Honey is the only form of sugar that is commercially available in its truly natural state. Maple syrup, agave nectar and palm sugar first need minimal amounts of processing.
- Honey - bees gather the sugary nectar of flowers. It is then modified and stored in a honeycomb where it turns into honey by a process of evaporation. The flavour of honey is determined by the flora native to the bees. It contains proteins, vitamins, minerals, enzymes and pollen.
- Maple Syrup - produced by boiling down the sap of maple trees, it is high in trace minerals.
- Agave Nectar - comes from the cactus like Mexican agave plant. One variety, the Blue Weber agave is the one that Tequila is made from. The nectar is extracted from the core of the plant and is turned into syrup by an enzymatic process or by adding water. Both light and dark versions are available. The light syrup has a neutral flavour and the darker syrup has a slight caramel flavour. Available from health food shops and major supermarkets. A raw version is available from Detox Your World.
- Palm Sugar (Syrup) - sometimes called jaggery, it is widely used in S & SE Asia and comes from the sap of palm trees. It is a dark toffee coloured unrefined sugar with a rich flavour. Palm sugar is sold in solid bars of crumbly sugar or the soft syrupy sugar is sold in tubs. It is often used in Thai recipes. Available from specialist Thai and Asian shops and some major supermarkets.
- Date Syrup - a rich flavoured syrup made from fresh dates. Meridian produces date syrup and it is available from some major supermarkets and several online stores (see Meridian Website for further details).
- Sweet Freedom - a new sweetener, made from grapes, apples and carob using a chemical and enzyme free water extraction process. Details of the actual method used is a closely guarded secret! Two versions are available. The light syrup tastes similar to sugar whilst the rich version is darker with a more caramel like flavour. Available from health food stores, major supermarkets and Ocado. For more information and to buy online go to Sweet Freedom.
Naturally Processed Sugars
These are derived by a process of culturing/sprouting rice and barley with enzymes.
- Brown Rice Syrup - a pale brown caramelly flavoured syrup. Biona is one manufacturer of brown rice syrup.
- Barley Malt Syrup - a thick, sticky, dark brown syrup made from sprouted barley. It has a strong malty flavour and is about half as sweet as sugar. Manufacturers include Meridian & Clear Spring
Sugars frequently found in processed foods
- Sucrose - sugar as we would recognise it
- Fructose - found naturally in fruit but commercially made by removing glucose from sucrose
- Levulose - another name for fructose
- Glucose/Dextrose - the form of sugar used by the human body, commercially it usually refers to a syrup made by the enzymatic hydrolysis of starch (maize, wheat, sago etc)
- Maltose - malt sugar, made by an enzymatic process when barley is malted, only a third as sweet as sugar
- Lactose - milk sugar
- Corn Syrup - made by the hydrolysis of maize starch, often called liquid glucose or glucose syrup
- High Fructose Corn Syrup - an inexpensive blend of glucose and fructose used extensively in food manufacturing
- Invert Syrup - blends of glucose, fructose and sometimes sucrose which are specially custom blended for bakeries and food manufacturers. Developed for better texture, softer crumb, increased moistness and longer shelf life of baked goods. Also found in drinks, sauces and confectionery
- Hydrolysed Starch - another name for glucose when it is commercially made by the enzymatic hydrolysis of starch
- Maltodextrin - a form of glucose
- Maltodextrose - another form of glucose
Why is sugar unhealthy?
Weight Gain
Excessive consumption of all sugars can lead to weight gain. There are additional concerns with refined sugars and fructose.
Refined Sugar - during the refining process all the nutrients, minerals and vitamins are stripped from the sugar plants. This means that the resulting refined sugar provides energy (calories) and absolutely nothing else, nutritionally there is no benefit whatsoever so sugar is essentially empty calories.
Fructose - most people associate fructose with the naturally occurring sugar in fruit and therefore consider it to be a healthier alternative to sugar. Experts now believe that although fructose doesn't cause blood sugar levels to rise in the same way that sucrose does, it is not altogether the healthier option. High intakes of fructose have been linked with an increase in levels of triglycerides (blood fats) and this may contribute to weight gain and may also be a precursor to heart disease. Yet again, the problem is due to the quantities being consumed. If the only fructose eaten was in the form of whole fruits you'd be hard pushed to eat an excess of fructose because it would be physically difficult to munch your way through a large volume of fruit. Also the fibre in the fruit means that satiety would be quickly reached. On the other hand you could easily consume a large quantity of fructose in the form of fruit juices. Combine that with the consumption of some of the many products that now contain 'high fructose corn syrup' and you could easily find yourself eating way too much fructose.
Tooth Decay
All sugar reacts with bacteria in the mouth and this causes plaque. Over time this can result in tooth decay.
Impact on Blood Sugar
When a sugary food is consumed the sugar is rapidly converted to blood sugar giving a burst of energy, at the same time the pancreas releases insulin to reduce blood sugar levels. The burst of energy from the sugar is short lived which means that blood sugar levels then drop suddenly. The human body can accommodate this occasionally but the problem is when sugar is consumed on a regular basis and the normal balance is repeatedly disturbed.
Fruit - most fruits release their sugar relatively slowly into the bloodstream, this means that they are less likely to disrupt the blood sugar balance. However, the sugars in fruit juice are released more quickly as are the concentrated forms of fruit sugars such as those in dried fruits, so they do have the potential to impact blood sugar levels.
Agave Nectar - predominantly consists of naturally occurring fructose and is therefore released slowly into the bloodstream and like fruit is less likely to cause a negative impact on blood sugar levels.
Brown Rice Syrup - composed of 50% soluble complex carbohydrates which are released slowly, 45% maltose which is release relatively quickly and 3% glucose which is released immediately into the blood stream.
Barley Malt Syrup - consists of about 65% maltose, 30% complex carbohydrate and 3% protein so it is released more quickly into the bloodstream than brown rice syrup.
To summarise
- All sugars can cause tooth decay
- All sugars can contribute to weight gain
- Sucrose and most concentrated forms of sugar (including dried fruit, honey, maple syrup & fruit juice) can cause a rapid rise and fall of blood sugar levels
- High intakes of fructose can increase levels of triglycerides
Is there a healthy alternative?
This is a contentious area with many different opinions. Really the answer has got to be that sugar in any form is not a health giving food and so should not be freely consumed.
However, a lot of the problems with sugar are more to do with the quantities being consumed rather than the sugars themselves. So, the best solution is to reduce your overall consumption and save the really sugary treats for special occasions rather than for everyday.
Preferred Alternatives
Although these alternatives are all preferable to refined sugar (and other highly processed forms) it is not recommended that they are consumed to excess.
- Honey
- Maple Syrup
- Agave Nectar
- Brown Rice Syrup
- Unrefined Cane Sugar
- Palm Sugar
- Fruit - purees, juices, dried, concentrated spreads & date syrup
- Sweet Freedom Syrups
Other Sugar Substitutes
Stevia is a shrub native to Paraguay. It contains a natural sweetener called Stevisoid and is far sweeter than sugar. The leaf of the shrub is dried and ground to a powder. It does not contain calories or carbohydrates and does not raise blood sugar levels and it is even believed to nourish the pancreas. Stevia is used in many countries, most notably Japan. It can be used in cooking although some brands of Stevia may produce a bitter aftertaste.
This all might sound like the ideal substitute for sugar but it has been banned as a food additive in the UK because there is no long term evidence on the safety of the herb, but it can be purchased as a dietary supplement!
Sugar Alcohols - the dangers of artificial chemical based sweeteners are well known and in recent years there has been an increase in the use of sugar alcohols as sweeteners. Sugar alcohols are hydrogenated carbohydrates and are found in many sugar free foods, they include:
- Glycerol
- Mannitol
- Sorbital
- Xylitol
Xylitol is promoted as the healthy alternative to sugar. It is a white granular sweetener that looks just like sugar. It is low glycaemic, alkalises the body and even reduces tooth decay. Xylitol tastes like sugar except that it produces a cooling sensation in the mouth after consumption. Xylitol is a natural substance found in some hardwoods (birch and beech), fruits, berries and mushrooms. It can cause side effects such as digestive discomfort and diarrhoea but continued usually results in a greater tolerance.
As the use of sugar alcohols as sweeteners is becoming more common there is the question of the long term effect on the body. Nobody knows whether or not these sweeteners will be the cause of future health problems. They are artificially made by the hydrogenation of carbohydrates and it is not so very long ago that margarines made from hydrogenated oils were classed as being the healthy alternative to butter. Are we simply being seduced by marketing? Would it not be a more sensible approach to retrain our palates so we don't crave sweeter and sweeter foods?
*** TOXICITY IN DOGS ***
Even very small quantities of Xylitol can cause a rapid release of insulin in dogs which causes hypoglycaemia and this may result in the death of the dog. Signs of hypoglycaemia include:
- In coordination
- Collapse
- Seizures
If you suspect that your dog has consumed Xylitol it is import to get immediate help from your vet.
Higher quantities can cause liver failure with hours of ingestion.
