White sugar
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
[edit ]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 C
12H
22O
11.[2] White sugars produced from sugar cane and sugar beet are chemically indistinguishable: it is possible, however, to identify their origin through a carbon-13 analysis.[1]
White sugar (and some brown sugar) produced from sugar cane may be refined using bone char by a few sugar cane refiners.[3] Beet sugar has never been processed with bone char and is vegan.[4] 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.[5] [6] [7] The only detectable differences are, therefore, the white color and the less intense flavor.[7]
Health impacts
[edit ]The overconsumption of white sugar (or any sugar) brings many health consequences,[8] 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.[8]
References
[edit ]- ^ a b Dario Bressanini (3 June 2009). "Miti culinari 6: lo zucchero veleno bianco". Le Scienze Blog (in Italian). Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ "What is sugar?". Exploratorium. 7 March 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
- ^ "Animal Bones". www.sucrose.com. Retrieved 2019年09月19日.
- ^ "A List of Bone Char Free Vegan Sugar Companies". ordinaryvegan.net. 29 March 2014. Retrieved 2019年09月19日.
- ^ Raffaella Procenzano (28 January 2014). "Lo zucchero bianco fa male più dello zucchero grezzo?" (in Italian). Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ Anahad O'Connor (12 June 2007). "The Claim: Brown Sugar Is Healthier Than White Sugar". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ a b Dario Bressanini (6 April 2009). "Miti culinari 5: le virtù dello zucchero di canna". Le Scienze Blog (in Italian). Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- ^ a b CDC (2024年10月03日). "Get the Facts: Added Sugars". Nutrition. Retrieved 2025年02月13日.
External links
[edit ]- All about White sugar – The Spruce Eats