Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double sugars, are molecules made of two bonded monosaccharides; common examples are sucrose (glucose + fructose), lactose (glucose + galactose), and maltose (two molecules of glucose). White sugar is a refined form of sucrose. In the body, compound sugars are hydrolysed into simple sugars.
Longer chains of monosaccharides (>2) are not regarded as sugars and are called oligosaccharides or polysaccharides. Starch is a glucose polymer found in plants, the most abundant source of energy in human food. Some other chemical substances, such as ethylene glycol, glycerol and sugar alcohols, may have a sweet taste but are not classified as sugar.
Sugars are found in the tissues of most plants. Honey and fruits are abundant natural sources of simple sugars. Sucrose is especially concentrated in sugarcane and sugar beet, making them ideal for efficient commercial extraction to make refined sugar. In 2016, the combined world production of those two crops was about two billion tonnes. Maltose may be produced by malting grain. Lactose is the only sugar that cannot be extracted from plants. It can only be found in milk, including human breast milk, and in some dairy products. A cheap source of sugar is corn syrup, industrially produced by converting corn starch into sugars, such as maltose, fructose and glucose.
Sucrose is used in prepared foods (e.g., cookies and cakes), is sometimes added to commercially available ultra-processed food and beverages, and is sometimes used as a sweetener for foods (e.g., toast and cereal) and beverages (e.g., coffee and tea). The average person consumes about 24 kilograms (53 pounds) of sugar each year. North and South Americans consume up to 50 kg (110 lb), and Africans consume under 20 kg (44 lb). [1]
As free sugar consumption grew in the latter part of the 20th century, researchers began to examine whether a diet high in free sugar, especially refined sugar, was damaging to human health. In 2015, the World Health Organization strongly recommended that adults and children reduce their intake of free sugars to less than 10% of their total energy intake and encouraged a reduction to below 5%. [2] In general, high sugar consumption damages human health more than it provides nutritional benefit and is associated with a risk of cardiometabolic and other health detriments. [3]
The etymology of sugar reflects the commodity's spread. From Sanskrit śarkarā, meaning "ground or candied sugar", came Persian shakar and Arabic sukkar. The Arabic word was borrowed in Medieval Latin as succarum, whence came the 12th century French sucre and the English sugar. Sugar was introduced into Europe by the Arabs in Sicily and Spain. [4]
The English word jaggery , a coarse brown sugar made from date palm sap or sugarcane juice, has a similar etymological origin: Portuguese jágara from the Malayalam cakkarā, which is from the Sanskrit śarkarā. [5]
Sugar has been produced in the Indian subcontinent [6] for thousands of years. Sugarcane cultivation spread from there into China via the Khyber Pass and caravan routes. [7] It was not plentiful or cheap in early times, and in most parts of the world, honey was more often used for sweetening. [8] Originally, people chewed raw sugarcane to extract its sweetness. Even after refined sugarcane became more widely available during the European colonial era, [9] palm sugar was preferred in Java and other sugar producing parts of southeast Asia, and along with coconut sugar, is still used locally to make desserts today. [10] [11]
Sugarcane is native of tropical areas such as the Indian subcontinent (South Asia) and Southeast Asia. [6] [12] Different species seem to have originated from different locations; Saccharum barberi originated in India, and S. edule and S. officinarum came from New Guinea. [12] [13] One of the earliest historical references to sugarcane is in Chinese manuscripts dating to the 8th century BCE, which state that the use of sugarcane originated in India. [14]
In the tradition of Indian medicine (āyurveda), sugarcane is known by the name Ikṣu, and sugarcane juice is known as Phāṇita. Its varieties, synonyms and characteristics are defined in nighaṇṭus such as the Bhāvaprakāśa (1.6.23, group of sugarcanes). [15]
Sugar remained relatively unimportant until the Indians discovered methods of turning sugarcane juice into granulated crystals that were easier to store and transport. The Greek physician Pedanius Dioscorides attested to the method in his 1st century CE medical treatise De Materia Medica:
There is a kind of coalesced honey called sakcharon [i.e. sugar] found in reeds in India and Eudaimon Arabia similar in consistency to salt and brittle enough to be broken between the teeth like salt,
In the local Indian language, these crystals were called khanda (Devanagari: खण्ड, Khaṇḍa), which is the source of the word candy. [18] Indian sailors, who carried clarified butter and sugar as supplies, introduced knowledge of sugar along the various trade routes they travelled. [19] Traveling Buddhist monks took sugar crystallization methods to China. [20] During the reign of Harsha (r. 606–647) in North India, Indian envoys in Tang China taught methods of cultivating sugarcane after Emperor Taizong of Tang (r. 626–649) made known his interest in sugar. China established its first sugarcane plantations in the seventh century. [21] Chinese documents confirm at least two missions to India, initiated in 647 CE, to obtain technology for sugar refining. [22]
Nearchus, admiral of Alexander the Great, knew of sugar during the year 325 BC because of his participation in the campaign of India led by Alexander ( Arrian, Anabasis ). [23] [24] In addition to the Greek physician Pedanius Dioscorides, the Roman Pliny the Elder also described sugar in his 1st century CE Natural History: "Sugar is made in Arabia as well, but Indian sugar is better. It is a kind of honey found in cane, white as gum, and it crunches between the teeth. It comes in lumps the size of a hazelnut. Sugar is used only for medical purposes." [25] Crusaders brought sugar back to Europe after their campaigns in the Holy Land, where they encountered caravans carrying "sweet salt". Early in the 12th century, the Republic of Venice acquired some villages near Tyre and set up estates to produce sugar for export to Europe. It supplemented the use of honey, which had previously been the only available sweetener. [26] Crusade chronicler William of Tyre, writing in the late 12th century, described sugar as "very necessary for the use and health of mankind". [27] In the 15th century, Venice was the chief sugar refining and distribution center in Europe. [14]
There was a drastic change in the mid-15th century, when Madeira and the Canary Islands were settled from Europe and sugar introduced there. [28] [29] After this an "all-consuming passion for sugar ... swept through society" as it became far more easily available, though initially still very expensive. [30] By 1492, Madeira was producing over 1,400,000 kilograms (3,000,000 lb) of sugar annually. [31] Genoa, one of the centers of distribution, became known for candied fruit, while Venice specialized in pastries, sweets (candies), and sugar sculptures. Sugar was considered to have "valuable medicinal properties" as a "warm" food under prevailing categories, being "helpful to the stomach, to cure cold diseases, and sooth lung complaints". [32]
A feast given in Tours in 1457 by Gaston de Foix, which is "probably the best and most complete account we have of a late medieval banquet" includes the first mention of sugar sculptures, as the final food brought in was "a heraldic menagerie sculpted in sugar: lions, stags, monkeys ... each holding in paw or beak the arms of the Hungarian king". [33] Other recorded grand feasts in the decades following included similar pieces. [34] Originally the sculptures seem to have been eaten in the meal, but later they become merely table decorations, the most elaborate called trionfi . Several significant sculptors are known to have produced them; in some cases their preliminary drawings survive. Early ones were in brown sugar, partly cast in molds, with the final touches carved. They continued to be used until at least the Coronation Banquet for Edward VII of the United Kingdom in 1903; among other sculptures every guest was given a sugar crown to take away. [35]
In August 1492, Christopher Columbus collected sugar cane samples in La Gomera in the Canary Islands, and introduced it to the New World. [36] The cuttings were planted and the first sugar-cane harvest in Hispaniola took place in 1501. Many sugar mills had been constructed in Cuba and Jamaica by the 1520s. [37] The Portuguese took sugar cane to Brazil. By 1540, there were 800 cane-sugar mills in Santa Catarina Island and another 2,000 on the north coast of Brazil, Demarara, and Surinam. It took until 1600 for Brazilian sugar production to exceed that of São Tomé, which was the main center of sugar production in sixteenth century. [29]
Sugar was a luxury in Europe until the early 19th century, when it became more widely available, due to the rise of beet sugar in Prussia, and later in France under Napoleon. [38] Beet sugar was a German invention, since, in 1747, Andreas Sigismund Marggraf announced the discovery of sugar in beets and devised a method using alcohol to extract it. [39] Marggraf's student, Franz Karl Achard, devised an economical industrial method to extract the sugar in its pure form in the late 18th century. [40] [41] Achard first produced beet sugar in 1783 in Kaulsdorf, and in 1801, the world's first beet sugar production facility was established in Cunern, Silesia (then part of Prussia, now Poland). [42] The works of Marggraf and Achard were the starting point for the sugar industry in Europe, [43] and for the modern sugar industry in general, since sugar was no longer a luxury product and a product almost only produced in warmer climates. [44]
Sugar became highly popular and by the 19th century, was found in every household. This evolution of taste and demand for sugar as an essential food ingredient resulted in major economic and social changes. [45] Demand drove, in part, the colonization of tropical islands and areas where labor-intensive sugarcane plantations and sugar manufacturing facilities could be successful. [45] World consumption increased more than 100 times from 1850 to 2000, led by Britain, where it increased from about 2 pounds per head per year in 1650 to 90 pounds by the early 20th century. In the late 18th century Britain consumed about half the sugar which reached Europe. [46]
After slavery was abolished, the demand for workers in European colonies in the Caribbean was filled by indentured laborers from the Indian subcontinent. [47] [48] [49] Millions of enslaved or indentured laborers were brought to various European colonies in the Americas, Africa and Asia (as a result of demand in Europe for among other commodities, sugar), influencing the ethnic mixture of numerous nations around the globe. [50] [51] [52]
Sugar also led to some industrialization of areas where sugar cane was grown. For example, in the 1790s Lieutenant J. Paterson, of the Bengal Presidency promoted to the British parliament the idea that sugar cane could grow in British India, where it had started, with many advantages and at less expense than in the West Indies. As a result, sugar factories were established in Bihar in eastern India. [53] [54] During the Napoleonic Wars, sugar-beet production increased in continental Europe because of the difficulty of importing sugar when shipping was subject to blockade. By 1880 the sugar beet was the main source of sugar in Europe. It was also cultivated in Lincolnshire and other parts of England, although the United Kingdom continued to import the main part of its sugar from its colonies. [55]
Until the late nineteenth century, sugar was purchased in loaves, which had to be cut using implements called sugar nips. [56] In later years, granulated sugar was more usually sold in bags. Sugar cubes were produced in the nineteenth century. The first inventor of a process to produce sugar in cube form was Jakob Christof Rad, director of a sugar refinery in Dačice. In 1841, he produced the first sugar cube in the world. [57] He began sugar-cube production after being granted a five-year patent for the process on 23 January 1843. Henry Tate of Tate & Lyle was another early manufacturer of sugar cubes at his refineries in Liverpool and London. Tate purchased a patent for sugar-cube manufacture from German Eugen Langen, who in 1872 had invented a different method of processing of sugar cubes. [58]
Sugar was rationed during World War I, though it was said that "No previous war in history has been fought so largely on sugar and so little on alcohol", [59] and more sharply during World War II. [60] [61] [62] [63] [64] Rationing led to the development and use of various artificial sweeteners. [60] [65]
Scientifically, sugar loosely refers to a number of carbohydrates, such as monosaccharides, disaccharides, or oligosaccharides. Monosaccharides are also called "simple sugars", the most important being glucose. Most monosaccharides have a formula that conforms to C
nH
2nO
n with n between 3 and 7 (deoxyribose being an exception). Glucose has the molecular formula C
6H
12O
6. The names of typical sugars end with -ose, as in "glucose" and "fructose". Sometimes such words may also refer to any types of carbohydrates soluble in water. The acyclic mono- and disaccharides contain either aldehyde groups or ketone groups. These carbon-oxygen double bonds (C=O) are the reactive centers. All saccharides with more than one ring in their structure result from two or more monosaccharides joined by glycosidic bonds with the resultant loss of a molecule of water (H
2O) per bond. [66]
Monosaccharides in a closed-chain form can form glycosidic bonds with other monosaccharides, creating disaccharides (such as sucrose) and polysaccharides (such as starch or cellulose). Enzymes must hydrolyze or otherwise break these glycosidic bonds before such compounds become metabolized. After digestion and absorption the principal monosaccharides present in the blood and internal tissues include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Many pentoses and hexoses can form ring structures. In these closed-chain forms, the aldehyde or ketone group remains non-free, so many of the reactions typical of these groups cannot occur. Glucose in solution exists mostly in the ring form at equilibrium, with less than 0.1% of the molecules in the open-chain form. [66]
Biopolymers of sugars are common in nature. Through photosynthesis, plants produce glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P), a phosphated 3-carbon sugar that is used by the cell to make monosaccharides such as glucose (C
6H
12O
6) or (as in cane and beet) sucrose (C
12H
22O
11). Monosaccharides may be further converted into structural polysaccharides such as cellulose and pectin for cell wall construction or into energy reserves in the form of storage polysaccharides such as starch or inulin. Starch, consisting of two different polymers of glucose, is a readily degradable form of chemical energy stored by cells, and can be converted to other types of energy. [66] Another polymer of glucose is cellulose, which is a linear chain composed of several hundred or thousand glucose units. It is used by plants as a structural component in their cell walls. Humans can digest cellulose only to a very limited extent, though ruminants can do so with the help of symbiotic bacteria in their gut. [67] DNA and RNA are built up of the monosaccharides deoxyribose and ribose, respectively. Deoxyribose has the formula C
5H
10O
4 and ribose the formula C
5H
10O
5. [68]
Because sugars burn easily when exposed to flame, the handling of sugars risks dust explosion. The risk of explosion is higher when the sugar has been milled to superfine texture, such as for use in chewing gum. [69] The 2008 Georgia sugar refinery explosion, which killed 14 people and injured 36, and destroyed most of the refinery, was caused by the ignition of sugar dust. [70]
In its culinary use, exposing sugar to heat causes caramelization. As the process occurs, volatile chemicals such as diacetyl are released, producing the characteristic caramel flavor. [71]
Fructose, galactose, and glucose are all simple sugars, monosaccharides, with the general formula C6H12O6. They have five hydroxyl groups (−OH) and a carbonyl group (C=O) and are cyclic when dissolved in water. They each exist as several isomers with dextro- and laevo-rotatory forms that cause polarized light to diverge to the right or the left. [72]
Lactose, maltose, and sucrose are all compound sugars, disaccharides, with the general formula C12H22O11. They are formed by the combination of two monosaccharide molecules with the exclusion of a molecule of water. [72]
The sugar contents of common fruits and vegetables are presented in Table 1.
Food item | Total carbohydrate A including dietary fiber | Total sugars | Free fructose | Free glucose | Sucrose | Fructose/ (Fructose+Glucose) ratio B | Sucrose as a % of total sugars |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fruits | |||||||
Apple | 13.8 | 10.4 | 5.9 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 0.67 | 20 |
Apricot | 11.1 | 9.2 | 0.9 | 2.4 | 5.9 | 0.42 | 64 |
Banana | 22.8 | 12.2 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 2.4 | 0.5 | 20 |
Fig, dried | 63.9 | 47.9 | 22.9 | 24.8 | 0.9 | 0.48 | 1.9 |
Grapes | 18.1 | 15.5 | 8.1 | 7.2 | 0.2 | 0.53 | 1 |
Navel orange | 12.5 | 8.5 | 2.25 | 2.0 | 4.3 | 0.51 | 51 |
Peach | 9.5 | 8.4 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 4.8 | 0.47 | 57 |
Pear | 15.5 | 9.8 | 6.2 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 0.67 | 8 |
Pineapple | 13.1 | 9.9 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 6.0 | 0.52 | 61 |
Plum | 11.4 | 9.9 | 3.1 | 5.1 | 1.6 | 0.40 | 16 |
Strawberry | 7.68 | 4.89 | 2.441 | 1.99 | 0.47 | 0.55 | 10 |
Vegetables | |||||||
Beet, red | 9.6 | 6.8 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 6.5 | 0.50 | 96 |
Carrot | 9.6 | 4.7 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 3.6 | 0.50 | 77 |
Corn, sweet | 19.0 | 6.2 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 0.9 | 0.38 | 15 |
Red pepper, sweet | 6.0 | 4.2 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 0.0 | 0.55 | 0 |
Onion, sweet | 7.6 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 0.47 | 14 |
Sweet potato | 20.1 | 4.2 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 0.47 | 60 |
Yam | 27.9 | 0.5 | tr | tr | tr | na | tr |
Sugar cane | 13–18 | 0.2–1.0 | 0.2–1.0 | 11–16 | 0.50 | high | |
Sugar beet | 17–18 | 0.1–0.5 | 0.1–0.5 | 16–17 | 0.50 | high |
Due to rising demand, sugar production in general increased some 14% over the period 2009 to 2018. [83] The largest importers were China, Indonesia, and the United States. [83]
In 2022/3 world production of sugar was 186 Mt, and in 2023/4 an estimated 194 Mt - a surplus of 5 Mt, according to Ragus. [84]
Sugarcane production – 2020 | |
---|---|
Country | Millions of tonnes |
Brazil | 757.1 |
India | 370.5 |
China | 108.1 |
Thailand | 75.0 |
World | 1,870 |
Source: FAOSTAT, United Nations [85] |
Sugar cane accounted for around 21% of the global crop production over the 2000–2021 period. The Americas was the leading region in the production of sugar cane (52% of the world total). [86] Global production of sugarcane in 2020 was 1.9 billion tonnes, with Brazil producing 40% of the world total and India 20% (table).
Sugarcane is any of several species, or their hybrids, of giant grasses in the genus Saccharum in the family Poaceae. They have been cultivated in tropical climates in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia over centuries for the sucrose found in their stems. [6]
Sugar cane requires a frost-free climate with sufficient rainfall during the growing season to make full use of the plant's substantial growth potential. The crop is harvested mechanically or by hand, chopped into lengths and conveyed rapidly to the processing plant (commonly known as a sugar mill) where it is either milled and the juice extracted with water or extracted by diffusion. [88] The juice is clarified with lime and heated to destroy enzymes. The resulting thin syrup is concentrated in a series of evaporators, after which further water is removed. The resulting supersaturated solution is seeded with sugar crystals, facilitating crystal formation and drying. [88] Molasses is a by-product of the process and the fiber from the stems, known as bagasse, [88] is burned to provide energy for the sugar extraction process. The crystals of raw sugar have a sticky brown coating and either can be used as they are, can be bleached by sulfur dioxide, or can be treated in a carbonatation process to produce a whiter product. [88] About 2,500 litres (660 US gal) of irrigation water is needed for every one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of sugar produced. [89]
Sugar beet production – 2020 | |
---|---|
Country | Millions of tonnes |
Russia | 33.9 |
United States | 30.5 |
Germany | 28.6 |
France | 26.2 |
World | 253 |
Source: FAOSTAT, United Nations [90] |
In 2020, global production of sugar beets was 253 million tonnes, led by Russia with 13% of the world total (table).
Sugar beet became a major source of sugar in the 19th century when methods for extracting the sugar became available. It is a biennial plant, [91] a cultivated variety of Beta vulgaris in the family Amaranthaceae, the tuberous root of which contains a high proportion of sucrose. It is cultivated as a root crop in temperate regions with adequate rainfall and requires a fertile soil. The crop is harvested mechanically in the autumn and the crown of leaves and excess soil removed. The roots do not deteriorate rapidly and may be left in the field for some weeks before being transported to the processing plant where the crop is washed and sliced, and the sugar extracted by diffusion. [92] Milk of lime is added to the raw juice with calcium carbonate. After water is evaporated by boiling the syrup under a vacuum, the syrup is cooled and seeded with sugar crystals. The white sugar that crystallizes can be separated in a centrifuge and dried, requiring no further refining. [92]
Refined sugar is made from raw sugar that has undergone a refining process to remove the molasses. [93] [94] Raw sugar is sucrose which is extracted from sugarcane or sugar beet. While raw sugar can be consumed, the refining process removes unwanted tastes and results in refined sugar or white sugar. [95] [96]
The sugar may be transported in bulk to the country where it will be used and the refining process often takes place there. The first stage is known as affination and involves immersing the sugar crystals in a concentrated syrup that softens and removes the sticky brown coating without dissolving them. The crystals are then separated from the liquor and dissolved in water. The resulting syrup is treated either by a carbonatation or by a phosphatation process. Both involve the precipitation of a fine solid in the syrup and when this is filtered out, many of the impurities are removed at the same time. Removal of color is achieved by using either a granular activated carbon or an ion-exchange resin. The sugar syrup is concentrated by boiling and then cooled and seeded with sugar crystals, causing the sugar to crystallize out. The liquor is spun off in a centrifuge and the white crystals are dried in hot air and ready to be packaged or used. The surplus liquor is made into refiners' molasses. [97]
The International Commission for Uniform Methods of Sugar Analysis sets standards for the measurement of the purity of refined sugar, known as ICUMSA numbers; lower numbers indicate a higher level of purity in the refined sugar. [98]
Refined sugar is widely used for industrial needs for higher quality. Refined sugar is purer (ICUMSA below 300) than raw sugar (ICUMSA over 1,500). [99] The level of purity associated with the colors of sugar, expressed by standard number ICUMSA, the smaller ICUMSA numbers indicate the higher purity of sugar. [99]
Brown sugars are granulated sugars, either containing residual molasses, or with the grains deliberately coated with molasses to produce a light- or dark-colored sugar such as muscovado and turbinado. They are used in baked goods, confectionery, and toffees. [102] Their darkness is due to the amount of molasses they contain. They may be classified based on their darkness or country of origin. [100]
Worldwide sugar provides 10% of the daily calories (based on a 2000 kcal diet). [107] In 1750, the average Briton got 72 calories a day from sugar. In 1913, this had risen to 395. In 2015, sugar still provided around 14% of the calories in British diets. [108] According to one source, per capita consumption of sugar in 2016 was highest in the United States, followed by Germany and the Netherlands. [109]
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Energy | 1,576 kJ (377 kcal) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
97.33 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sugars | 96.21 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dietary fiber | 0 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
0 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
0 g | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other constituents | Quantity | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Water | 1.77 g | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults, [110] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies. [111] |
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Energy | 1,619 kJ (387 kcal) | ||||||||||||||||||||
99.98 g | |||||||||||||||||||||
Sugars | 99.91 g | ||||||||||||||||||||
Dietary fiber | 0 g | ||||||||||||||||||||
0 g | |||||||||||||||||||||
0 g | |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Other constituents | Quantity | ||||||||||||||||||||
Water | 0.03 g | ||||||||||||||||||||
†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults, [110] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies. [111] |
Brown and white granulated sugar are 97% to nearly 100% carbohydrates, respectively, with less than 2% water, and no dietary fiber, protein or fat (table). Brown sugar contains a moderate amount of iron (15% of the Reference Daily Intake in a 100 gram amount, see table), but a typical serving of 4 grams (one teaspoon), would provide 15 calories and a negligible amount of iron or any other nutrient. [112] Because brown sugar contains 5–10% molasses reintroduced during processing, its value to some consumers is a richer flavor than white sugar. [113]
High sugar consumption damages human health more than it provides nutritional benefit, and in particular is associated with a risk of cardiometabolic health detriments. [3]
Sugar refiners and manufacturers of sugary foods and drinks have sought to influence medical research and public health recommendations, [114] [115] with substantial and largely clandestine spending documented from the 1960s to 2016. [116] [117] [118] [119] The results of research on the health effects of sugary food and drink differ significantly, depending on whether the researcher has financial ties to the food and drink industry. [120] [121] [122] A 2013 medical review concluded that "unhealthy commodity industries should have no role in the formation of national or international NCD [ non-communicable disease ] policy". [123] Similar efforts to steer coverage of sugar-related health information have been made in popular media, including news media and social media. [124] [125] [126]
A 2003 technical report by the World Health Organization (WHO) provides evidence that high intake of sugary drinks (including fruit juice) increases the risk of obesity by adding to overall energy intake. [127] By itself, sugar is doubtfully a factor causing obesity and metabolic syndrome. [128] Meta-analysis showed that excessive consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages increased the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome – including weight gain [129] and obesity – in adults and children. [130] [131]
Sugar consumption does not directly cause cancer. [132] [133] [134] Cancer Council Australia have stated that "there is no evidence that consuming sugar makes cancer cells grow faster or cause cancer". [132] There is an indirect relationship between sugar consumption and obesity-related cancers through increased risk of excess body weight. [134] [132] [135]
The American Institute for Cancer Research and World Cancer Research Fund recommend that people limit sugar consumption. [136] [137]
There is a popular misconception that cancer can be treated by reducing sugar and carbohydrate intake to supposedly "starve" tumours. In reality, the health of people with cancer is best served by maintaining a healthy diet. [138]
Despite some studies suggesting that sugar consumption causes hyperactivity, the quality of evidence is low [139] and it is generally accepted within the scientific community that the notion of children's 'sugar rush' is a myth. [140] [141] A 2019 meta-analysis found that sugar consumption does not improve mood, but can lower alertness and increase fatigue within an hour of consumption. [142] One review of low-quality studies of children consuming high amounts of energy drinks showed association with higher rates of unhealthy behaviors, including smoking and excessive alcohol use, and with hyperactivity and insomnia, although such effects could not be specifically attributed to sugar over other components of those drinks such as caffeine. [143]
The WHO, Action on Sugar and the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) consider free sugars an essential dietary factor in the development of dental caries. [144] [145] [146] WHO have stated that "dental caries can be prevented by avoiding dietary free sugars". [144]
A review of human studies showed that the incidence of caries is lower when sugar intake is less than 10% of total energy consumed. [147] Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption is associated with an increased risk of tooth decay. [148]
The "empty calories" argument states that a diet high in added (or 'free') sugars will reduce consumption of foods that contain essential nutrients. [149] This nutrient displacement occurs if sugar makes up more than 25% of daily energy intake, [150] a proportion associated with poor diet quality and risk of obesity. [151] Displacement may occur at lower levels of consumption. [150]
The WHO recommends that both adults and children reduce the intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake, and suggests a reduction to below 5%. "Free sugars" include monosaccharides and disaccharides added to foods, and sugars found in fruit juice and concentrates, as well as in honey and syrups. According to the WHO, "[t]hese recommendations were based on the totality of available evidence reviewed regarding the relationship between free sugars intake and body weight (low and moderate quality evidence) and dental caries (very low and moderate quality evidence)." [2]
On 20 May 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced changes to the Nutrition Facts panel displayed on all foods, to be effective by July 2018. New to the panel is a requirement to list "added sugars" by weight and as a percent of Daily Value (DV). For vitamins and minerals, the intent of DVs is to indicate how much should be consumed. For added sugars, the guidance is that 100% DV should not be exceeded. 100% DV is defined as 50 grams. For a person consuming 2000 calories a day, 50 grams is equal to 200 calories and thus 10% of total calories—the same guidance as the WHO. [152] To put this in context, most 12-US-fluid-ounce (355 ml) cans of soda contain 39 grams of sugar. In the United States, a government survey on food consumption in 2013–2014 reported that, for men and women aged 20 and older, the average total sugar intakes—naturally occurring in foods and added—were, respectively, 125 and 99 g/day. [153]
Various culinary sugars have different densities due to differences in particle size and inclusion of moisture. The "Engineering Resources – Bulk Density Chart" published in Powder and Bulk gives values for bulk densities: [154]
Manufacturers of sugary products, such as soft drinks and candy, and the Sugar Research Foundation have been accused of trying to influence consumers and medical associations in the 1960s and 1970s by creating doubt about the potential health hazards of sucrose overconsumption, while promoting saturated fat as the main dietary risk factor in cardiovascular diseases. [116] In 2016, the criticism led to recommendations that diet policymakers emphasize the need for high-quality research that accounts for multiple biomarkers on development of cardiovascular diseases. [116]
A carbohydrate is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 and thus with the empirical formula Cm(H2O)n, which does not mean the H has covalent bonds with O. However, not all carbohydrates conform to this precise stoichiometric definition, nor are all chemicals that do conform to this definition automatically classified as carbohydrates.
A disaccharide is the sugar formed when two monosaccharides are joined by glycosidic linkage. Like monosaccharides, disaccharides are simple sugars soluble in water. Three common examples are sucrose, lactose, and maltose.
Glucose is a sugar with the molecular formula C6H12O6. It is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. It is mainly made by plants and most algae during photosynthesis from water and carbon dioxide, using energy from sunlight. It is used by plants to make cellulose, the most abundant carbohydrate in the world, for use in cell walls, and by all living organisms to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is used by the cell as energy.
Fructose, or fruit sugar, is a ketonic simple sugar found in many plants, where it is often bonded to glucose to form the disaccharide sucrose. It is one of the three dietary monosaccharides, along with glucose and galactose, that are absorbed by the gut directly into the blood of the portal vein during digestion. The liver then converts most fructose and galactose into glucose for distribution in the bloodstream or deposition into glycogen.
Sucrose, a disaccharide, is a sugar composed of glucose and fructose subunits. It is produced naturally in plants and is the main constituent of white sugar. It has the molecular formula C
12H
22O
11.
Molasses is a viscous byproduct, principally obtained from the refining of sugarcane or sugar beet juice into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, the method of extraction and age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is usually used to sweeten and flavour foods. Molasses is a major constituent of fine commercial brown sugar.
Inulins are a group of naturally occurring polysaccharides produced by many types of plants, industrially most often extracted from chicory. The inulins belong to a class of dietary fibers known as fructans. Inulin is used by some plants as a means of storing energy and is typically found in roots or rhizomes. Most plants that synthesize and store inulin do not store other forms of carbohydrate such as starch. In 2018, the United States Food and Drug Administration approved inulin as a dietary fiber ingredient used to improve the nutritional value of manufactured food products. Using inulin to measure kidney function is the "gold standard" for comparison with other means of estimating glomerular filtration rate.
Inverted sugar syrup, also called invert syrup, invert sugar, simple syrup, sugar syrup, sugar water, bar syrup, syrup USP, or sucrose inversion, is a syrup mixture of the monosaccharides glucose and fructose, that is made by hydrolytic saccharification of the disaccharide sucrose. This mixture's optical rotation is opposite to that of the original sugar, which is why it is called an invert sugar.
A reducing sugar is any sugar that is capable of acting as a reducing agent. In an alkaline solution, a reducing sugar forms some aldehyde or ketone, which allows it to act as a reducing agent, for example in Benedict's reagent. In such a reaction, the sugar becomes a carboxylic acid.
Golden syrup or light treacle is a thick, amber-coloured form of inverted sugar syrup made by the process of refining sugar cane or sugar beet juice into sugar. It is used in a variety of baking recipes and desserts. It has an appearance and consistency similar to honey, and is often used as a substitute where honey is unavailable.
High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), also known as glucose–fructose, isoglucose and glucose–fructose syrup, is a sweetener made from corn starch. As in the production of conventional corn syrup, the starch is broken down into glucose by enzymes. To make HFCS, the corn syrup is further processed by D-xylose isomerase to convert some of its glucose into fructose. HFCS was first marketed in the early 1970s by the Clinton Corn Processing Company, together with the Japanese Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, where the enzyme was discovered in 1965.
D-Psicose (C6H12O6), also known as D-allulose or simply allulose, is an epimer of fructose that is used by some commercial food and beverage manufacturers as a low-calorie sweetener. Allulose occurs naturally in small quantities in a variety of foods. It was first identified in the 1940s, although the enzymes needed to produce it on an industrial scale were not discovered until the 1990s.
Isomaltulose is a disaccharide carbohydrate composed of glucose and fructose. It is naturally present in honey and sugarcane extracts and is also produced industrially from table sugar (sucrose) and used as a sugar alternative.
Agave syrup, also known as maguey syrup or agave nectar, is a sweetener commercially produced from several species of agave, including Agave tequilana and Agave salmiana. Blue-agave syrup contains 56% fructose as a sugar providing sweetening properties.
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, perennial grass that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sucrose, which accumulates in the stalk internodes. Sugarcanes belong to the grass family, Poaceae, an economically important flowering plant family that includes maize, wheat, rice, and sorghum, and many forage crops. It is native to New Guinea.
The history of sugar has five main phases:
Fructolysis refers to the metabolism of fructose from dietary sources. Though the metabolism of glucose through glycolysis uses many of the same enzymes and intermediate structures as those in fructolysis, the two sugars have very different metabolic fates in human metabolism. Under one percent of ingested fructose is directly converted to plasma triglyceride. 29% - 54% of fructose is converted in liver to glucose, and about a quarter of fructose is converted to lactate. 15% - 18% is converted to glycogen. Glucose and lactate are then used normally as energy to fuel cells all over the body.
Added sugars or free sugars are sugar carbohydrates added to food and beverages at some point before their consumption. These include added carbohydrates, and more broadly, sugars naturally present in honey, syrup, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates. They can take multiple chemical forms, including sucrose, glucose (dextrose), and fructose.
Pure, White and Deadly is a 1972 book by John Yudkin, a British nutritionist and former Chair of Nutrition at Queen Elizabeth College, London. Published in New York, it was the first publication by a scientist to anticipate the adverse health effects, especially in relation to obesity and heart disease, of the public's increased sugar consumption. At the time of publication, Yudkin sat on the advisory panel of the British Department of Health's Committee on the Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy (COMA). He stated his intention in writing the book in the last paragraph of the first chapter: "I hope that when you have read this book I shall have convinced you that sugar is really dangerous."
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)There is controversy concerning the role of sugar in the epidemics of obesity and metabolic syndrome.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Although there were insufficient data to set a UL [Tolerable Upper Intake Levels] for added sugars, a maximal intake level of 25 percent or less of energy is suggested to prevent the displacement of foods that are major sources of essential micronutrients
This article incorporates text from a free content work.Licensed under CC BY-SA IGO 3.0( license statement/permission ).Text taken from World Food and Agriculture – Statistical Yearbook 2023 ,FAO,FAO.