Sugar consumption and obesity has been the subject of intense scrutiny for years. The results of study after study are surprisingly consistent. Every major review of the body of scientific literature exonerates sugar as the explicit cause of any disease, including obesity.

Scapegoats are the rage these days. The need to blame something for society's problems has become more important than the truth! Rather than endorse positive changes in lifestyle to manage weight, it's easier to point a finger at sugar as the reason for obesity. Science, however, doesn't support that view.

Sugar is a basic carbohydrate that every healthy body need for energy. Put another way, sugar is an essential fuel for muscles, internal organs, and first-rate brain function.

The natural sugar you buy at the grocery store has only 15 calories a teaspoon. People gain weight by taking in more calories than they burn over the course of a day. Obesity is the result of eating too much food, especially those with a high caloric content.
 

Did You Know? 

• One (1) gram of sugar, like that of any other carbohydrate, provides 4 calories in a person's daily diet. Sugar is converted immediately into the fuels a body needs. Study after study shows that restricting foods or food ingredients won't work. In fact, it can create a forbidden fruit syndrome that causes individuals to gain weight. Sugar plays a role in helping suppress feelings of hunger, a plus for those striving to control their weight. Remember - One (1) teaspoon of sugar has only 15 calories.

  Sugar (Serving size)	Calories
  Table Sugar, 1 level teaspoon (4g)	15
  Table Sugar, 1 heaped teaspoon (6g)	25
  Table Sugar, 1 cup	770
  Table Sugar, average (1 cube)	25
  Icing Sugar, 1 average tablespoon (12g)	48

  
  Guide for baking with less sugar:

  For every cup of flour, use only:
  Cakes and cookies	1/2 cup sugar
  Muffins and quick breads	1 tablespoon sugar
  Yeast breads	1 teaspoon sugar

   

• One (1) gram of fat, on the other hand, deliver 9 calories. Fats are stored for later use. Energy from fat cell reserves is released only when other sources are not available.

• People gain weight when they take in more calories than they burn. So, if you are concerned about your weight, eat reasonable amounts, drink plenty of water, and maintain an appropriate level of physical activity. Sugar is a safe food that can easily be included in healthful eating. People should limit their sugar intake to no more than 10 per cent of their daily diet.

• Artificial Sweeteners - Many people use artificial sweeteners because they think they are cutting calories and will lose weight. Often, these people will eat artificially sweetened foods or drinks and then eat even more of other foods. They may even end up gaining weight! The calorie savings with artificial sweeteners are not as great as most people think. Also remember, artificial sweeteners are not found in nature. It's not necessary to use artificial sweeteners to eat less sugar because foods taste just fine made with less sugar. Today's health-conscious consumers need to ask, "Is saving a few calories worth abandoning an all-natural food like sugar?"

Types of Sugar

White Sugar:

There are many different types of granulated sugar. Some of these are used only by the food industry and professional bakers and are not available in the supermarket. The types of granulated sugars differ in crystal size. Each crystal size provides unique functional characteristics that make the sugar appropriate for a specific food’s special need.

“Regular” or white sugar, extra fine or fine sugar - “Regular” or white sugar, as it is known to consumers, is the sugar found in every home’s sugar bowl, and most commonly used in home food preparation. White sugar is the sugar called for in most cookbook recipes. The food industry stipulates “regular” sugar to be “extra fine” or “fine” because small crystals are ideal for bulk handling and not susceptible to caking.

Fruit Sugar - Fruit sugar is slightly finer than “regular” sugar and is used in dry mixes such as gelatin and pudding desserts, and powdered drinks. Fruit sugar has a more uniform small crystal size than “regular” sugar. The uniformity of crystal size prevents separation or settling of larger crystals to the bottom of the box, an important quality in dry mixes.

Bakers Special Sugar - The crystal size of Bakers Special is even finer than that of fruit sugar. As its name suggests, it was developed specially for the baking industry. Bakers Special is used for sugaring doughnuts and cookies, as well as in some commercial cake recipes to create a fine crumb texture.

Superfine, ultra fine, or bar sugar - This sugar’s crystal size is the finest of all the types of granulated white sugar. It is ideal for  delicately textured cakes and meringues, as well as for sweetening fruits and iced-drinks since it dissolves easily. In England, a sugar very similar to superfine sugar is known as caster or castor, named after the type of shaker in which it is often packaged.

Confectioners or powdered sugar - This sugar is granulated sugar ground to a smooth powder and then sifted. It contains about 3% cornstarch to prevent caking. Powdered sugar is ground into three different degrees of fineness. The confectioners sugar available in supermarkets – 10X – is the finest of the three and is used in icings, confections and whipping cream. The other two types of powdered sugar are used by industrial bakers.

Coarse sugar - As its name implies, the crystal size of coarse sugar is larger than that of “regular” sugar. Coarse sugar is recovered when molasses-rich, sugar syrups high in sucrose are allowed to crystallize. The large crystal size of coarse sugar makes it highly resistant to color change or inversion (natural breakdown to fructose and glucose) at cooking and baking temperatures. These characteristics are important in making fondants, confections and liquors.

Sanding sugar - Another large crystal sugar, sanding sugar, is used mainly in the baking and confectionery industries as a sprinkle on top of baked goods. The large crystals reflect light and give the product a sparkling appearance.
 

Brown Sugar:

Turbinado sugar - This sugar is raw sugar which has been partially processed, where only the surface molasses has been washed off. It has a blond color and mild brown sugar flavor, and is often used in tea and other beverages.

Brown sugar (light and dark) - Brown sugar retains some of the surface molasses syrup, which imparts a characteristic pleasurable flavor. Dark brown sugar has a deeper color and stronger molasses flavor than light brown sugar. Lighter types are generally used in baking and making butterscotch, condiments and glazes. The rich, full flavor of dark brown sugar makes it good for gingerbread, mincemeat, baked beans, and other full flavored foods.

Brown sugar tends to clump because it contains more moisture than white sugar.

Muscovado or Barbados sugar - Muscovado sugar, a British specialty brown sugar, is very dark brown and has a particularly strong molasses flavor. The crystals are slightly coarser and stickier in texture than “regular” brown sugar.

Free-flowing brown sugars - These sugars are specialty products produced by a co-crystallization process. The process yields fine, powder-like brown sugar that is less moist than “regular” brown sugar. Since it is less moist, it does not clump and is free-flowing like white sugar.

Demerara sugar - Popular in England, Demerara sugar is a light brown sugar with large golden crystals, which are slightly sticky from the adhering molasses. It is often used in tea, coffee, or on top of hot cereals.
 

Liquid Sugar:

Liquid sugars - There are several types of liquid sugar. Liquid sugar (sucrose) is white granulated sugar that has been dissolved in water before it is used. Liquid sugar is ideal for products whose recipes first require sugar to be dissolved. Amber liquid sugar is darker in color and can be used in foods where brown color is desired.

Invert sugar - Sucrose can be split into its two component sugars (glucose and fructose). This process is called inversion, and the product is called invert sugar. Commercial invert sugar is a liquid product that contains equal amounts of glucose and fructose. Because fructose is sweeter than either glucose or sucrose, invert sugar is sweeter than white sugar. Commercial liquid invert sugars are prepared as different mixtures of sucrose and invert sugar. For example total invert sugar is half glucose and half fructose, while 50% invert sugar (half of the sucrose has been inverted) is one-half sucrose, one-quarter glucose and one-quarter fructose. Invert sugar is used mainly by food manufacturers to retard the crystallization of sugar and to retain moisture in the packaged food. Which particular invert sugar is used is determined by which function – retarding crystallization or retaining moisture – is required.

Home cooks make invert sugar whenever a recipe calls for a sugar to be boiled gently in a mixture of water and lemon juice.