Are Some Sugars Healthier Than Others?

added sugars allulose carbohydrates disaccharides fatty liver fructose galactose glucose glycogen high-fructose corn syrup insulin resistance lactose maltose monosaccharides prediabetes refined sugars starches stevia sucrose sugar type-2 diabetes Apr 06, 2024

honey, maple syrup, and granulated sugar

When you hear the word “sugar,” a sweet white substance probably comes to mind. But there are actually many different types of sugar, and they’re not all processed the same way by your body.

There’s some debate about whether some types of sugar may be healthier than others. In this article, we’ll tackle this question, as well as cover:

What is a sugar?
What are the most common sugars?
Is fructose healthier?
In praise of glucose
The problem of sugar overconsumption
Healthy sugar substitutes

Read on to discover the differences between sugars — and find out which one is the healthiest!

What is a sugar?

Sugars are the most basic form of carbohydrates. This is why they’re also sometimes known as simple carbohydrates.¹

Your body breaks down sugars and absorbs them fast, making them the quickest energy source.^1,2

Some sugars exist naturally in foods. An example is fructose, which can be found in fruit. Another one is lactose in milk.³

Fruits, vegetables, grains, and other whole foods typically contain only modest amounts of sugar. Plus, they come with fiber and other nutrients that aid your digestion and promote your overall health.⁴

Sugars are often added to foods or drinks to improve their taste. For instance, it’s common to put sugar in coffee. Sugars can also help preserve foods (like jams and jellies) or ferment them (as with pickles and bread). Manufacturers use sugars as bulking agents in ice cream, soft drinks, and other processed foods too.⁵

These added sugars are typically refined. This means they’re extracted from natural sources and processed in different ways. But all that processing strips away fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other beneficial substances. So, refined sugars are considered empty calories.⁶

Two common examples of refined sugars are sucrose (table sugar) and high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).⁶

What are the most common sugars?

Based on their structure, sugars fall into two groups.

Monosaccharides are made up of only one molecule. Among these simple sugars are glucose, fructose, and galactose.⁴

On the other hand, disaccharides — also called compound sugars — consist of two molecules. Examples are sucrose (glucose + fructose), lactose (glucose + galactose), and maltose (two glucose molecules). Compound sugars need to be broken down into simple sugars before your body can use them.⁴

Most of the galactose you ingest goes to your liver, where it’s ultimately converted into glucose. Small amounts of galactose can reach other organs like your brain and mammary glands. At these sites, galactose is used to produce amino acids (the building blocks of protein) or lactose.⁷

Meanwhile, lactose gets metabolized in your gut with the help of an enzyme called lactase. Any excess lactose is then broken down by your gut bacteria.⁸

The two main components of refined, added sugars are glucose and fructose. Your body metabolizes these sugars differently.⁹

Is fructose healthier?

The fructose you consume gets broken down mainly by your liver. Among its many other tasks, this amazing organ produces enzymes that convert fructose into glucose and lactose. Lactose is then metabolized as described above, while glucose becomes available for use or storage as glycogen.^10,11

Because of the time required for this conversion, fructose produces only small rises in your blood sugar levels. For this reason, some doctors recommend it as a “safe” sugar for people with prediabetes or type-2 diabetes (T2D).⁹

But when you eat or drink a lot of fructose, the excess contributes to fatty acid production in your liver. This is a problem because a fatty liver directly causes insulin resistance — a precursor to prediabetes, T2D, and other serious conditions. So, fructose is not so good for diabetes after all.^9,12

In praise of glucose

Glucose is a quick and easy source of energy. Nearly every cell in your body can absorb glucose from your blood and use it right away as fuel. Any excess glucose can be stored by your liver and muscles until you need it.¹¹

Because glucose is already in a form your cells can use, consuming this simple sugar tends to cause spikes in your blood sugar levels. (“Blood sugar” is actually a measurement of the amount of glucose in your blood.) One way to address this problem is to choose the right types of carbs to eat.¹³

Starches are complex carbohydrates. They’re made of long chains of glucose molecules strung together. Starches have to be broken down into glucose, a process which takes time (though not as much time as it takes to process fructose). As a result, starchy foods give you energy more slowly compared to sugar-rich foods. Consuming these complex carbs leads to more stable blood sugar levels over longer periods. Foods high in starch include potatoes, chickpeas, wheat, and pasta.²

It’s especially important to avoid consuming too many sugary drinks. The worst blood sugar spikes occur when these liquid sugars are absorbed directly into your blood from your stomach.^14,15

The problem of sugar overconsumption

For the past 30+ years, Americans have been consuming more and more added sugars. Studies show that on average, adults aged 20 and older consume 17 teaspoons of added sugars a day. This amount is way beyond the recommended daily limit of 9 teaspoons for men and 6 teaspoons for women.^14,16

It’s especially easy to consume too much HFCS. This cheap, highly processed sweetener is widely used to prolong the shelf life of processed foods — the top sources of added sugars in the American diet.¹²

Added sugars aren’t only found in the culprits you’d expect: cookies, cakes, doughnuts, sodas, and ice cream. They’re also found in fast food, condiments including sauces and salad dressings, and beverages of all kinds, including teas and fruit juices.¹²

Healthy sugar substitutes

As a healthier option, consider trying allulose. This simple sugar exists naturally in just a few foods like wheat, figs, and molasses. Because it’s rare, it has to be refined to be available for mass consumption.^17,18

Allulose shares the same chemical formula with fructose. This chemical similarity allows allulose to directly replace sugar in any recipe. But your body cannot process allulose because it has a different structure. This makes allulose virtually free of calories. It leaves your body mostly through your urine.¹⁸

Another alternative sweetener is stevia. This natural sugar substitute is as much as 300 times sweeter than regular sugar. It comes from the leaves of the Stevia rebaudiana plant. The leaves have chemicals called steviol glycosides, which give stevia its sweet flavor.¹⁹

Steviol glycosides are broken down by your gut bacteria and eventually exit your body through your urine. So, stevia provides almost zero calories, and studies show that stevia or its byproducts don’t build up in your body.²⁰

Stevia has a bit of an odd flavor — not quite like any other sweetener. It’s often described as having an “aftertaste.” Manufacturers of health foods containing stevia often combine it with one of the sugar alcohols in an attempt to disguise the characteristic flavor of the stevia. But there’s an easier solution. Just add a drop of vanilla flavoring.^21,22

Conclusion

Not all sugars are created equal. Natural sugars typically exist in modest amounts in whole foods. The presence of other nutrients in whole foods makes them a better choice than foods with added sugars.

If you must consume added sugars, glucose is better than fructose. This is because fructose gets processed mainly by your liver, while glucose can be metabolized by many other cells in your body. Plus, excess fructose consumption causes a fatty liver, which leads to insulin resistance.

For more stable blood glucose levels, choose complex carbs over simple ones. Compared to simple carbs, complex carbs take longer to break down.

Lastly, stay away from sugary drinks as much as you can. Use healthier substitutes for sugar, such as allulose and stevia.

Making healthier choices when it comes to sugar can be harder than it sounds. But rest easy, we’ve done the hard work for you. Find out more with the Diabetes Diet Solution.

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