Ice cream, lollipops, donuts, cakes, cupcakes, and sodas all are delightful sweet treats — so sweet because of sugar.

People enjoy the sweetness of sugar especially the children, when added to food and beverages we consume, it adds an extra sweetness which is appetizing.

Sugar is useful not only because it gives our foods extra sweet flavor, but it gives our bodies quick energy too.

Did you know?💡

Sugar is pure carbohydrates, a food that's easily used by the body.

Kinds of Sugar

People usually think of sugar as only one kind but there are different kinds of sugar. All sugar is carbohydrates, all made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen arranged in different ways. Sugar is very known for its sweetness and easily dissolves in water, however, not all sugars are sweet at all.

Sucrose is the sugar that came from sugar cane and sugar beets. This is the most commonly used and known by people. Next to sucrose is dextrose also called glucose or grape sugar. Other kinds of sugars are lactose, or milk sugar, maltose, or malt sugar, and fructose (levulose) as sugar comes from fruit.

Sugars can be found in many living things, may it be vegetables or animals. Lots of trees contain sugar (sucrose) in their sap. The best examples are date, coconut, and other palms which were used at one time as sources of sugar.

Forms of Sugar

Granulated Sugar. This is the very common and familiar form of sugar that we use. This is pure sucrose refined in the crystalline form.

The size of the grain is controlled by the methods used in boiling. Sometimes the grains are molded and pressed into cubes or tablets for hot beverages.

Confectioner Sugar. These are fine powders from grounded grains. This is very common in baking and pastries. It is used to make cake frostings and some candies.

Brown Sugar. This sugar is not refined to pure whiteness. The brown color comes from the traces of molasses that are still in the sugar. Brown sugars have a special flavor and fragrance than white sugar doesn't have. Usually, these brown sugars are used to sweeten cookies, bread, and baked beans.

There are various grades of brown sugars, such as light yellow, golden brown, and dark brown.

I also love to add brown sugar to my black coffee. We used brown sugar at home fro it is cheaper and more flavourful than refined.

Syrup. This sugar is made from sugarcane which is highly-priced. This is used for cooking or as a spread for hotcakes.

Molasses. This is a product, a leftover from the process of sugar manufacture. This is heavy dark syrup may be as much as 50 percent sucrose and is also a high content of organic and mineral substances.

The highest grades of molasses are used to add flavor and sweetness to candies, cookies, and gingerbread.

The lowest grade of molasses including blackstrap molasses (a molasses with a very high content of mineral content) is chiefly used for livestock feed and by the distilling industries for alcohol production.

If you're a sweet-treat lover, a sweet tooth, you shouldn't feel guilty. Sugar is not that bad it has benefits too!

Benefits of Sugar

Most people know that we need to cut down on our sugar intake to lose weight or lower our blood pressure, however, a healthy diet that supports productivity includes sugar.

Glucose is the body’s primary source of energy, and it comes from the breakdown of sugar. Sucrose contains a fructose molecule and a glucose molecule. The body divides the molecules apart, and insulin helps carry the glucose to cells where it’s instantly metabolized and converted into energy. Without glucose, we wouldn’t have the stamina for all of our activities.

Sugar can provide energy beyond the immediate boost. After glucose is converted into energy for immediate use, the body will store some of the glucose as an energy reserve for later.

Sugar helps in boosting your mood. Sugar activates the pleasure center of our brain and causes a rush of dopamine. This will produce an immediate, delighted, or euphoric feeling.

Naturally sweet chocolate can improve thinking skills. Chocolate is a source of natural sugar, but it also contains other healthy components. Each bite provides a surge of antioxidants along with cocoa flavanols. It is found that cocoa flavanols can improve cognitive function and it can even improve thinking skills regardless of whether a person has cognitive impairment.

Natural sugar sources come with added nutrients. Natural sources of sugar usually contain healthy nutrients alongside their sweet counterparts. Dairy products, fruits, and veggies all provide natural sugars in addition to fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and hydration.

Sugar earns blame for many health problems, but without it, your body would cease to function properly. However, despite all the benefits it gives, sugar consumption has to be limited or it can do more harm than good. Always remember that too much is bad especially if you're concern about your health.

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