Refined sugar intake is linked to conditions like obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. Yet, it’s found in a variety of foods, making it particularly challenging to avoid.
Moreover, you may wonder how refined sugars compare to natural ones, and whether they have similar health effects.
This article discusses what refined sugar is, how it differs from natural sugar, and how to minimize your intake.
How is refined sugar made?
Sugar is naturally found in many foods, including fruits, vegetables, dairy, grains, and even nuts and seeds.
This natural sugar can be extracted to produce the refined sugar currently so abundant in the food supply. Table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) are two common examples of refined sugars created this way.
Table sugar
Table sugar, also known as sucrose, is typically extracted from sugar cane plants or sugar beets.
The sugar manufacturing process begins with washing the sugar cane or beets, slicing them, and soaking them in hot water, which allows their sugary juice to be extracted.
The juice is then filtered and turned into a syrup that’s further processed into sugar crystals that are washed, dried, cooled, and packaged into the table sugar found on supermarket shelves (1).
High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a type of refined sugar. The corn is first milled to make corn starch and then further processed to create corn syrup (1).
Enzymes are then added, which increases the content of the sugar fructose, ultimately making the corn syrup taste sweeter.
The most common type is HFCS 55, which contains 55% fructose and 42% glucose — another kind of sugar. This percentage of fructose is similar to that of table sugar (2Trusted Source).
These refined sugars are typically used to add flavor to foods but can also act as a preservative in jams and jellies or help foods like pickles and breads ferment. They’re also often used to add bulk to processed foods like soft drinks and ice cream.
SUMMARY
Refined sugar is made by extracting and processing the sugar naturally found in foods like corn, sugar beets, and sugar cane. This refined sugar is then added to foods for various purposes, including to boost flavor.
Many negative health effects
Sugars like table sugar and HFCS are added to various foods, including many that you would not suspect contain sugar. Thus, they may sneak into your diet, promoting a range of detrimental health effects.
For instance, consuming large amounts of refined sugar, especially in the form of sugary beverages, has consistently been linked to obesity and excess belly fat, a risk factor for conditions like diabetes and heart disease (3Trusted Source, 4Trusted Source, 5Trusted Source).
In particular, foods enriched with HFCS may cause you to become resistant to leptin, a hormone that signals your body when to eat and when to stop. This may partly explain the link between refined sugar and obesity (6Trusted Source).
Many studies also associate diets high in added sugars with increased heart disease risk (7Trusted Source).
Additionally, diets rich in refined sugar are commonly linked to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, depression, dementia, liver disease, and certain types of cancer (8Trusted Source, 9Trusted Source, 10Trusted Source, 11Trusted Source).
SUMMARY
Refined sugars may increase your risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. They’re also linked to a higher likelihood of depression, dementia, liver disease, and certain types of cancer.
Refined vs. natural sugars
For several reasons, refined sugars are generally worse for your health than natural sugars.
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