The granulated sugar we see on our tables is called sucrose -- it is made from sugar cane or sugar beets. Some common substitutes for "sugar" currently available in processed foods:
Sugars can be disguised on package labels when they're called:
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FRUCTOSE is supposedly sweeter than sucrose so 'you don't need to use as much' but that's true only when the fructose is cold. Agreed, fructose does not raise blood sugar levels as much as dextrose and sucrose, so it's less of a problem for diabetics, but it's empty calories nonetheless. HONEY, which is a popular sugar substitute because it "has vitamins in it" and because "it's made from the little bees -- so it's natural" does have trace calcium, iron, & phosphorus. However, these nutrients are more efficiently obtained from milk and eggs and... |
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| it takes... | to get equivalent... | |
| 296 tbsp. honey (18,944 cal) | CA from 1 cup skim milk (88 cal) | |
| 162 tbsp. honey (10,368 cal) | IRON from 3 oz. liver (234 cal) | |
| 103 tbsp. honey ( 6,592 cal) | PHOSPHORUS from 1 egg (82 cal) | |
| 24 tbsp. honey | POTASSIUM in an orange | |
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HONEY has 22 calories per teaspoon. Sugar has 13 calories per teaspoon. Are you still sure honey's a better choice? BROWN SUGAR, at 17 calories per teaspoon is nutritionally equivalent to white sugar. It's made by adding a little molasses to white sugar. CORN SYRUP is made when cornstarch is broken down by acids, resulting in a clear, somewhat sweet liquid. MOLASSESS, is a thick, dark syrup which is a by-product of table sugar made from sugar cane. "Sugar free" means only that the product does not have sucrose. |
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corn syrup
hexitol
mannitol
sorbitol
maltose
cane
maple syrup
turbinado sugar |
dextrose
glucose
molasses
sucrose (table sugar)
corn sweetener
levulose
xylitol
"raw" sugar
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fructose
invert sugar
saccharin
refined sugar
dextrin
honey
confectioner sugar
brown sugar |
