Is brown sugar good for diabetics? (2024)

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Misconceptions about brown sugar and white sugar are very common. Although the two are produced from the same source, brown sugar is often touted as a healthier, natural alternative to white sugar. Understanding the differences and health effects of these two sugars is especially important for people with diabetes.

1.Nutritional value

Brown and white sugar are both produced from sugar beet or sugar cane, the two types have almost the same nutritional table.
Brown sugar is usually made by adding molasses to refined white sugar, which gives it a darker color and provides a small amount of vitamins and minerals. With the same serving size, brown sugar is usually slightly lower in calories and carbs than white sugar. Brown sugar also contains more calcium, iron and potassium than white sugar, although the content is negligible.
Therefore, this small difference has no different benefit or effect on the user's health.

2.Increase blood sugar

Brown sugar and white sugar are mainly sucrose or granulated sugar. On the glycemic index (GI), which measures how well certain foods are and their ability to raise blood sugar on a scale of 0 to 100, sucrose scores 65. This means both Brown and white sugar both raise blood sugar as much as fast foods, like chips, sweet potatoes, and popcorn.
Maintaining healthy blood sugar levels is extremely important for people with diabetes. Therefore, controlling the GI index and food intake is the optimal method for stable health.

3. Is brown sugar better than white sugar?

For people with diabetes, the use of brown sugar has no healthier effects than white sugar.
Users should note that any added sugars should be limited as part of a healthy, well-rounded diet. Excess sugar intake is strongly linked to the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and fatty liver disease.
Some studies show that excess sugar also impairs insulin sensitivity, which refers to how responsive the human body is to insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels. with damaged insulin reduces the ability to efficiently transport sugar from the blood to the cells. Therefore, people with diabetes should pay special attention to their sugar consumption.
The American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugars to less than 6 teaspoons (25 grams or 100 calories) per day for women and less than 9 teaspoons (37.5 grams or 150 calories) per day for men.

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