White Sugar vs Brown Sugar: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

Consumption of sugar is a highly debated topic in modern fitness. From believing that cutting out sugar entirely is a wise choice to think that sugar causes hyperactivity in children, there are a great many misleading notions about sugar consumption floating around on the web.

Ultimately, the white sugar vs brown sugar argument has convinced people that one of the two alternatives is the healthier choice. But in order to know whether you should be consuming refined white sugar or brown sugar, you need to understand how this ingredient affects your body.

What Does Sugar Do?

When it comes to white sugar vs brown sugar, sugar is a type of carbohydrate that is produced by processing sugarcane extracts. It is usually added in granular or powdered form to dishes and beverages. Consuming sugar has the following effect on your body:

• It releases dopamine, a hormone that is responsible for making you feel good.
• It gets metabolized by the liver for energy purposes, which is one of the main reasons as to why sugar is consumed.
• Refined white sugar that is additional or not metabolized gets stored as fat. As a result, it can lead to weight gain.
• It does not contain any nutrients, so it may lead to feelings of insatiety.

Why is Refined White Sugar Bad?

Usage of refined white sugar can cause quite a lot of health problems for you. Keep in mind that these issues are a result of continued consumption of added sugars and not the natural sugars present in fruits and milk. Facts such as these further compound the white sugar vs brown sugar debate.

• Increase in teeth cavity. Bacteria present in the mouth feed on the sugar and releases an acid that wears down the teeth enamel.
• Spike in blood sugar which consequently increases inflammation and androgen secretion.
• It could lead to atherosclerosis, which is the hardening of the arteries that causes restricted blood flow.
• Quickens skin ageing by causing wrinkles.
• Associated with heart disease.
• Risk of damage to the kidney and developing Gout. If your diet has high sugar content, you run the risk of damaging the blood vessels in the kidney. Moreover, the increase in uric acid levels can further lead to Gout (joint pains).

Is Brown Sugar Better?

When it comes to the perennial white sugar vs brown sugar debate,  brown sugar is often made out to be a healthy alternative to refined white sugar, but the fact of the matter is that the differences between the two are quite insubstantial.

When the syrup (molasses) leftover from the sugar-making process is added to the crystallized white sugar, the mixture is called brown sugar. So if you are trying to reduce your sugar intake, consuming excess quantities of brown sugar will not help you in any way.

That said, brown sugar tends to have a small, but increased percentage of iron, calcium, and potassium when compared to refined white sugar.

Another benefit of switching to brown sugar is that, in the long run, you will have consumed slightly fewer calories. The white sugar calories amount to 16.3 per 4 grams, whereas for brown sugar it is 15 calories.

Can Brown Sugar Be Bad?

Yes, much like refined white sugar, if brown sugar is consumed in high doses regularly, it can lead to the same health concerns. So regardless of which variety of sugar, you prefer to take, do so in moderation to keep the ill effects at bay.

Conclusion

So there you go folks.That was our take on the white sugar vs brown sugar debate. Remember, whichever you choose, both have their pros and cons as demonstrated above.