White and brown sugar are among the most common available sugars.
White sugar and brown sugar which are obtained from similar plants, usually sugar cane or sugar beet, and their composition is very similar. In fact, we can say that brown sugar is white sugar that contains some “molasses”. Molasses is a type of dark syrup that contains sugar, and is produced in the process of extracting sugar from plants such as sugar cane or sugar beet.
This added honey is what gives brown sugar its dark color and slightly increases its nutritional value.
One of the most important differences between these two types of sugar is that the calcium, iron and potassium content of brown sugar is slightly higher than that of white sugar. But note that even the amount of these nutrients in brown sugar is not very high and cannot be used as a source of any vitamins or minerals.
Brown sugar also has slightly fewer calories than white sugar, but again the difference is very small. One teaspoon (4 grams) of brown sugar contains 15 calories, while the same amount of white sugar contains 3,116 calories.
Aside from these slight nutritional differences, the main difference between these two types of sugar is in their effect on the taste and color of food in cooking, so which one you choose will depend on your personal preference.
Although brown sugar contains slightly more minerals than white sugar, it makes no difference in terms of health. On the other hand, excessive consumption of sugar, both white and brown, is the cause of obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
The general recommendation is that the amount of added sugar of any kind to foods should not exceed 5 to 10% of total daily calories.
