Top 8 Health-Friendly Sugar Varieties

Black sugar honey is a concentrated solution formed during the sugarcane refining process. It has a rich flavor, a smoky aroma, and a slightly bitter taste compared to other sugars. Due to its slightly bitter taste, it contains less sugar than conventional honey. After processing, the sugar forms small, solid granules that dissolve easily in water. Black sugar is produced using modern technology, ensuring food safety and hygiene without colorants or preservatives, thus containing many beneficial trace elements such as vitamins B1, B6, C, calcium, iron, etc. The easy way to distinguish black sugar from other sugars lies in its outer color. Because it has not undergone refinement and sieving processes, black sugar has a darker and more intense color than pure white sugars. Moreover, black sugar granules are usually larger than fine white sugar granules. The sweetness of black sugar is also evaluated as mild and not as intense as other sugars.

Some people believe that black sugar water should be consumed when they have a cold, while others only use it on days of menstrual cramps. In fact, black sugar is a raw sugar that has not been refined, so it contains many vitamins and minerals. Because of its high iron content, drinking it can quickly restore physical strength and improve sexual performance. Consuming a moderate amount of black sugar daily is very beneficial for men. The advantage of this type of sugar is that it contains the most vitamins and minerals among other sweeteners. One major disadvantage of this sugar is its slightly bitter taste, which limits its consumption for some people.

It's a natural sugar made from the sap of coconut palm trees. This type of sugar is often confused with palm sugar. The most notable in its compound are the minerals iron, zinc, calcium, and potassium, along with some short-chain fatty acids like polyphenols and antioxidants. Then, it contains a fiber called inulin which can slow down the absorption of glucose, explaining why coconut sugar has a lower glycemic index than regular table sugar. Although this type of sugar contains some nutrients that you would get more from actual foods.

True to its name, this coconut sugar is made from the sap of coconut flowers cooked until thickened and all water is removed. Coconut sugar has a flavor and color similar to brown sugar. A teaspoon of coconut sugar contains about 16 grams of calories and 4 grams of carbohydrates. Therefore, consuming sugar from coconut trees may not reduce your calorie intake but still provides certain nutrients due to its high content of antioxidants, iron, calcium, and potassium. Due to its high content of potassium, magnesium, and sodium, sugar made from coconut trees has the ability to regulate water levels in the body as well as many functions of the heart, nervous system, and muscles. On hot days, a glass of lemonade with a little coconut sugar added will be a great refreshing drink that you can't miss. The fiber from this type of sugar has the ability to promote the growth of bifidus bacteria in the intestines. These are beneficial bacteria for the digestive system and help enhance your immune system. In addition, bifidus bacteria also have the ability to support the production of thiamine, riboflavin, vitamin B6, and vitamin.

Brown sugar is a type of sucrose similar to white sugar. It looks like sand sugar but has a brownish color due to the presence of residual molasses in crystallized sugar. We often encounter two common types of brown sugar: natural brown sugar and commercial brown sugar. The difference between these two types of brown sugar can be specific as follows: Natural brown sugar, when produced, we retain some molasses in the final stage of the sugar refining process. Due to its low calorie content, using brown sugar instead of white sugar can help improve and prevent obesity. Besides, it also contains some essential minerals such as zinc, calcium, magnesium, providing your body with important minerals, supporting stomach activities. With commercial brown sugar, this type of sugar is produced by using white sugar and adding a certain amount of molasses to dye the sugar. The proportion of molasses used in this type of sugar typically contains about 10% of the total weight of brown sugar. Brown sugar contains glycolic acid and beneficial minerals that have anti-aging effects, firm the skin, soften the skin, treat acne... which many women use for skincare.

Brown sugar is made from sugar cane, this sugar has very little sweetness compared to other sugars, with a slightly sour taste. The advantage of brown sugar is that it retains some nutrients from sugar cane such as: small amounts of fiber, calcium, zinc... Brown sugar does not contain as many calories as other types of granulated sugar. As for the disadvantages, brown sugar is very difficult to dissolve in water, so it is only used in food such as baking. Because it is difficult to dissolve in water, brown sugar is often sought after by women for effective and good skincare. Brown sugar is becoming more and more known to serve the purpose of beauty. Nowadays, there are many types of sugars on the market that have colors like brown sugar, but they are not really brown sugar. They are dyed by sellers to have a color like real brown sugar so housewives pay attention.

This type of sugar is made from fresh cane in the form of minimally processed sand sugar and has a brownish-yellow color. Sucanat has more flavors than regular white sugar, meaning it contributes sweetness and flavor to a variety of cooking recipes. In fact, it's the least refined cane sugar you can find outside the cane stalk itself. It's produced by crushing freshly cut cane, extracting the juice, and boiling it down in a large vat. Once the juice becomes a thick, dark syrup, it's cooled to create the dry granules we call Sucanat.

It contains small amounts of iron, calcium, vitamin B6, potassium, and chromium. Sucanat sugar is free of chemicals, bone char, or animal by-products, making it suitable for vegetarians. Because it retains more natural cane molasses, Sucanat granules are dark brown with a rich flavor. When heated, it will caramelize from 250 to 270 degrees. Unlike other pure sugar varieties made from cane juice, sugar is filtered to remove molasses and other nutrients. The advantage of this type of sugar is that it retains most of the nutrients in the sugar including even the smallest nutrients like Potassium, vitamin B6... The downside is that its glycemic index is similar to sand sugar.

Agave syrup is made from the sap of the agave plant, boiled and filtered. One advantage of agave syrup is its extremely low glycemic index, which has minimal impact on blood sugar levels. However, it contains higher levels of fructose than even corn syrup. Excessive fructose can lead to adverse effects on liver function, neutral fat concentration, and insulin sensitivity. Fructose is also more difficult to digest, especially for people with diabetes. Calcium is an essential part of our diet, helping regulate blood pressure, alleviate premenstrual syndrome, maintain body weight, and enhance bone health.

Many believe that most of our calcium intake comes from fresh milk and yogurt. Now you have another interesting option with agave syrup. Using agave syrup can greatly support your bone health. Most foods are high in calories, especially sweeteners like agave syrup. However, agave nectar can enhance the flavor of tea and coffee and importantly, it provides sweetness like sugar but with about 300 fewer calories. Organic foods and beverages are truly a good solution. Unfortunately, not all foods—even fruits and vegetables—are organic. Fortunately, agave nectar is one of the recognized organic components due to its origin from natural desert plants. One advantage of this type of sweetener is its minimal impact on blood sugar. Consider incorporating this sweetener into your diet.

With its distinctive flavor and health safety, grape sugar has become increasingly popular in every household. Grape sugar is one of the naturally sourced sugars widely used today. Although named 'grape sugar,' don't be mistaken that this type of sugar is extracted from grapes.

Grape sugar, also known as GDL (Glucono-Delta-Lactone), is a naturally derived additive found mainly in fruit juices, honey, and wine. When tasted initially, grape sugar is sweet but gradually transitions to a sour taste. It appears in many dishes, with its closest association being in tofu pudding. Grape sugar helps make tofu pudding soft, smooth, with a sweet and fragrant taste.

In nature, there are many types of plants containing low-energy sugars, with sweetness levels hundreds of times higher than sugar cane. They are used as sugar substitutes for those who need to avoid this type of food. Sweetgrass (also known as honey grass, sugar grass, sweet clover, and rabbit ears). Sweetgrass has been known since 1908, when scientists Reseback and Dieterich extracted glucozit from sweetgrass leaves. By 1931, Bridel and Lavieille identified that glucozit as steviolzit, the basic substance that creates the sweetness in this plant. Steviolzit, when hydrolyzed, yields 3 molecules of steviol and isosteviol. The sweetening substance steviol is 300 times sweeter than saccharose sugar, has low energy, is non-fermentable, is not decomposed, and has a delicious aroma that can be used to replace sugar in diets.

Sugar from sweetgrass has many uses that many people are unaware of. You can use sweetgrass sugar daily in cooking, brewing, baking... it will bring surprising effectiveness. On the other hand, it is very effective in treating stomach pain. Sweetgrass contains many active ingredients that help reduce pain and digestive disorders, especially stomach upset. It also contributes to oral care. Thanks to its high antibacterial properties, sweetgrass sugar helps prevent bleeding gums in people with gingivitis and provides better oral care.

The natural ingredients of sweetgrass sugar also provide good skin care, with effects such as reducing oil secretion, reducing wrinkles, making the skin brighter, anti-inflammatory, and preventing acne. Sweetgrass sugar is the most natural method to have smooth, beautiful hair and quickly solve problems with dandruff and scalp. You can treat diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure with this type of sugar. A study on 40 hypertensive patients aged 50 who consumed sweetgrass sugar for one month showed that their blood pressure stabilized, they urinated better, and they felt much healthier and more energetic.

Sugar beet always sits at the top of the list of most recommended foods. This root vegetable not only boasts a sweet flavor but also contains plenty of beneficial nutrients for health. Since the 19th century, when sugar extraction techniques emerged, sugar beets have been considered one of the primary sources for sugar production.

Sugar from beets is processed by slicing the beets into thin slices and then extracting the natural juice. This beet juice is then refined and heated to produce a thick syrup, which is then crystallized to form sugar crystals. Beet sugar is commonly used in making sweet treats or delicious coffee blends.