How Many Calories in Sugar

Sugar is a crystalline substance and sucrose, fructose and lactose are the three main types of sugar. Sugar is manufactured from sugar cane and sugar beet. In food, when we talk of sugar, we mostly refer to sucrose. Brazil tops the list of countries according to per capita production and the highest per-country consumption of sugar is recorded for India. Sucrose is also called table sugar or saccharose. Sugar is used as sweetener or preservative. It offers flavor and texture to the dish. In baking, it adds volume, tenderness, texture and color to the product.

Food industry may use other forms of sugar like fructose, which is derived from corn or from fruit. The alternative sugar based sweeteners are also very common. People with diabetes who wish to enjoy sweet food and low calorie food use sugar substitutes. There are numerous side effects of these sweeteners too. Though people know about the devastating effects of calories in sugar, a condition called sugar addiction, is quite common. Let us first compare white sugar and brown sugar with raw sugar.

White Sugar, Brown Sugar and Raw Sugar

Brown and refined sugar, both contain sucrose and both do not have the nutritional content found in unrefined raw sugar. Refined sugar is considered as white poison. People prefer brown sugar to white sugar these days. They think that it is unrefined sugar, but actually, brown sugar is sugar that has been refined and then molasses has been added to it. Limited use of unrefined raw sugar or sugar free diet can be the best options. Instead of using sugar, you can use the wonderful natural sweetener 'honey', which can offer nutritional benefits as well.

Following a sugar free diet is not difficult as restaurants do provide sugar free dishes. Raw sugar contains minerals and nutrients that are taken away from refined white sugar and regular brown sugar. Raw sugar has the same vitamin and mineral consistency as is found in the fresh sugarcane juice. Turbinado sugar is a raw sugar that is obtained or crystallized from the initial pressing of sugar cane. The minerals present in raw sugar are phosphorus, calcium, iron, magnesium, and potassium. Many harmful ingredients or chemicals like phosphoric acid, sulfur dioxide, and formic acid are added to sugar, when it is refined. As unrefined raw sugar does not have these harmful chemicals, it is the best option for all. While using sugar, you should consider all these aspects of sugar.

How Many Calories in Sugar

Type of Sugar	Quantity Served	Calories
White Sugar, Glucose or Fructose	1 tsp	15
Nutrasweet	1 tsp	2
Stevia	1 packet	0
Sweet N' Low	1 packet	0
Brown Sugar	1 tsp	15
Cane Sugar	1 tsp	15
Honey	1 tsp	20
Powdered Sugar	½ cup	175
Date Sugar	1 tsp	12
Splenda	1 tsp	5
Blackstrap Molasses	100 gm	235
Raw Sugar	1 tsp	11
Sugar Cookie With Icing	1/about 43 gm	180

You must have noticed that calories in brown sugar and calories in raw sugar are almost the same, but the nutritional value is different. Excessive consumption of sugar leads to diabetes, heart diseases, obesity, tooth decay, cancer, etc. Next time you eat your favorite cookies, do not forget to check the calories in sugar cookies, if you wish to opt for weight loss or if you want to avoid diseases mentioned above. To lower the calories in food consumed, to prevent tooth decay and to avoid the effects of sugar on health, you should learn some sugar free recipes.