Is Raw Sugar Better For You Than Refined?

When trying toeat healthier, one common strategy is opting formore nutritious versions of foods you already eat. For example, you might choosewhole-grainbread in lieu of traditional white, or swap sweetened yogurt forplain protein-rich Greek yogurttopped with fruit. And sincesugarandartificial sweetenersare often maligned, you may be wondering if you should replace refined white sugar with raw sugar.

Here’s what you need to know about how the two sugars compare nutritionally and why总体糖消耗plays a more important role in your health.

Although raw sugar may seem like a healthier option because it’s less processed, it has the same nutrient profile as itsrefined counterpart— both contain trace amounts of micronutrients and have the same number ofcalories,carbohydratesand sugar per teaspoon.

“Raw and refined sugar are the same —they’re sucrose,” says Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric neuroendocrinologist at the University of California, San Francisco, who has published extensive research about the effects of sugar on the body. The main difference is the texture: “Raw sugar still has some impurities from the crystallization process and hasn’t been bleached,” explains Lustig.

While it’s generally a smart idea tostay away from foods that are more processed当它们制成时，考虑您的身体如何崩溃也很重要。Lustig指出：“生糖仍以代谢与精制糖相同的方式处理。”此外，“没有研究表明，从精制到生糖转换为可以帮助您少食糖，”纽约州立营养与饮食学院发言人Joelle Malinowski Rd说。“当您向其中添加大量糖时，您会习惯某种方式的味道。但是，如果您逐渐减少使用的生糖或精制糖的量，则可以gradually wean yourself offand not even miss it,” adds Malinowski. And, ultimately, eating less sugar overall is the goal.

而不是专注于您将糖倒入咖啡中或添加到早晨的燕麦片上，而是考虑how much you’re adding. The World Health Organization andUSDA Dietary Guidelinesrecommend limiting added sugar to less than 10% of your daily calories, which would be about 50 grams of added sugar based on a2,000 calorie diet.

Cutting back on sugarcan have positive effects on your weight, blood-sugar levels and overall health. Trylogging your foodto see where your daily sugar consumption is and then look for ways to reduce itstarting with breakfast.