Refined sugar: Is it beneficial or harmful for health?

Refined sugar is recognized as table sugar. It is made from sugar cane or sugar beets, which are processed to extract the sugar. Nowadays, food manufacturing companies are heavily using refined sugar in their products.

Excessive consumption of package food can harm the health as it is not considered healthy. It is often linked with increased blood sugar and can even cause cancer. Our body can breaks down refined sugar rapidly, which can cause insulin and blood sugar levels to increase. Consumption of refined sugar can raise obesity rates, which can increase the risk of cancer.

However, this doesn’t mean that eating few pieces of package food harms the body. It just means that an increasing amount of junk food than nutritious food can harm the body. So always try to balance the ratio of junk food and nutritious food. It would be much better if you can raise the portion of healthy food and minimize the amount of package food.

Natural Sugar and  Refined Sugar

Fruits and dairy products are a source of natural sugar. Moreover, daily products like milk, cheese, and fruits are nutritious, which can help in preventing and treating diseases. Increasing the number of fruits and daily products in your daily diet can keep you full for a longer time. These foods are digested slower, which gives you a feeling of fullness for a longer time and also keeps metabolism stable.

Other than fruits and daily products, coconuts and dates are also a good source of natural sugar. Eating foods with natural sugar can slightly release energy to the body as they have more water. However, eating too much natural sugar is also not good for health as it can increase the level of calories in the body.

Refined sugar is found in food like sodas, packaged foods, and ice creams, which are considered unhealthy because of their high sugar content. Besides high sugar content, they also contain high salt, added fats and artificial coloring. Seeing the health implication of refined sugar, it’s better to avoid or at least to consume refined sugar.

Package food manufacturers use chemically extracted sugar, which is not healthy. These products are high in calories and sugar with very little nutritional value. Vitamin and minerals content is less in packaged foods, which don’t meet the requirement of our body.

In contrast, fruits and dairy products are a rich source of vitamins and minerals. Moreover, these foods also have protein and fibers, which are essential nutrients for the body to function accurately.

Get to know Refined Sugar

Food manufacturers use refined sugar to add flavor to the products. They are usually added to give a sweet flavor to the drink and foot. Refined sugar is popularly used in foods like drinks, sodas, and pasta sauces.

Our body treats sugar like fuel. When you consume any products that contain refined sugar, your body converts sugar into glucose. And this glucose is released to cells, where it is used as energy. However, more people eat more sugar than they can burn as energy. And this is the result of weight gain and tooth decay.

And this the reason why dieticians say to avoid sugar to minimize the chance of weight gain. Sodas and other drinks have high sugar levels, so it’s better to avoid such drinks. Those drinks aren’t healthy.

How to minimize refined sugar consumption?

Though products with refined sugar taste good and rejoice in your food, it’s better to reduce or at least minimize consumption of such products. You can eat substitute food to satisfy your carving.

• Drink water: Water is essential for proper body function. Drinking sodas, energy drinks, sports drinks, or any other can drink is not healthy. They have little nutritional value and don’t keep you hydrated long compared to water. And some can drink has no nutritional value at all.

drink water

• Sauces and toppings: Ketchup and barbecue sauce manufacturers use a large amount of sugar. The quantities of sugar they use in these products are shocking. While buying sauces and topping, look for the full-fat option because they will have less sugar than the fat-free versions.
• Processed snacks: It’s a known fact that you need to avoid processed snacks. But somehow people tend to buy them constantly. Though everyone knows regular consumption of these snacks harm health, people manage to consume them.

Natural sugar instead of refined sugar

Natural sugar is healthy. However, you should have a good understanding of sugar before you choose the right one.  As natural sugar is present in food that offers other benefits, so consumption of such food doesn’t just maintain your sugar level but also has many health benefits. These fruits can treat disease keeping you healthy.

The fiber in fruits slows the sugar enters into the bloodstream, reducing your likelihood of blood sugar spikes. Likewise, lactose in dairy products is packed with protein and varying levels of fat, which also help in preventing blood sugar spikes.

Fruits: natural sugar

Moreover, these nutrient-rich foods have a great contribution to your daily nutrient as they have numerous health benefits.

However, blending fruits into juice removes a larger portion of nutrient as well as chewing resistance, meaning you will not get full nutrient, and you will also require a large quantity to satisfy you. So better you bite them to get the full nutrient they offer.

Honey is also a popular source of natural sugar. They offer more benefits and are more nutrients than refined sugars. But, they are low in fiber and rich in natural sugar, so they should be consumed only moderately.

Frequently asked questions

What are examples of refined sugar?

High-fructose corn syrup, table sugar, cane sugar, white sugar, brown sugar, malt syrup, and molasses are some of the examples of refined sugar.

What is the difference between sugar and refined sugar?

Natural sugar is digested slower and helps you feel full for a longer time. Refined sugar comes from sugar cane or sugar beets, which are processed to extract sugar.

Does Greek Yogurt have refined sugar?

Greek yogurt use milk that contains naturally occurring sugar called lactose. And lactose is not refined sugar or processed like added sugar.

Is honey better than sugar?

Honey is a good supplement for sugar. If you are health conscious, switching to honey can be the best option. Honey has low GI value than sugar, which means it does not raise sugar level as quickly compare to refined sugar.