Janet
Registered: 08/02/07
Posts: 9
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| | 10/04/07 at 11:19 PM | Reply with quote | #1 |
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Hi Dee,
Would you please clear up some confusion about all these different types of "more natural" sugar?
Our ayurvedic physician, who is Indian, recommended that we eliminate all white sugar, and suggested sucanat as a replacement. For some reason, he doesn't like Stevia (I plan on asking him why when I see him in November).
We sometimes have trouble finding sucanat, and have been told by various people that we could use sucanat, rapadura, demarara, turbinado (which Sprouts carries in bulk), and evaporated cane juice interchangeably. Sounds like this is not exactly true.
I've bought sucanat in bulk in Gilbert, near Trader Joe's, but don't go that direction often, and Whole Foods in Tempe is 20 miles from me, so I had switched to the bulk turbinado at Sprouts, where I usually shop. I like the "crunchy" crystals better than the powdery sucanat. (Plus, it doesn't have as much of a molasses flavor as the sucanat.) But it sounds like that's a bad idea.
Last week, our Sprouts was out of the bulk turbinado, and the closest thing I could find was "Sugar in the Raw," which says it's "turbinado sugar" that "comes from the initial pressing of sugar cane which permits some of the natural molasses to remain in the crystals."
Also, I was under the impression that "evaporated cane juice" was "legal," and was thrilled to find some cans of Santa Cruz Organic Lemonade sweetened with evap cane juice, thinking I'd found a "treat" drink that was "legal" to replace my Cokes. And I nearly did cartwheels when I found dark chocolate chips at Whole Foods that were sweetened with evap cane juice. Sounds like I'm still fighting sugar demons without knowing it.
Would you please explain the difference between all these types of "sugar" - sucanat, rapadura, demerara, turbinado, and evap cane juice?
Thanks so much!
__________________
Janet |
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deemccaffrey
Registered: 05/21/06
Posts: 899
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| | 10/05/07 at 09:27 AM | Reply with quote | #2 |
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This question comes up over and over again. I try to be as informative as I can about this. When I teach my classes, I have a display of all the different types of so called "healthy" sugars. Turbinado, evaporated cane juice, and one form of sucant are pretty white and refined. Rapadura contains the most nutrients. If the sucanat is dark brown like the Rapadura, then it is closer to Rapadura in nutrients.
I am inserting a chart from my class with info to answer questions about the different sugars. If one must use sugar, the only one I suggest is Rapadura. The others are just glorified refined sugars, especially the one that comes in the brown packet that says "Sugar in the Raw". As you can see from the chart, it does not fare well in the nutrient department.
Evaporated Cane Juice (Sugar) HOW SUGARS COMPARE Q: Is evaporated cane juice or evaporated cane sugar a healthy sugar? Many of the so- called healthy cereals and snack foods contain this type of sugar. A: Below is a chart that compares the vitamin and mineral content of different types of sugar. What you really need to be thinking about when eating any type of sugar, is how much of the vitamins and minerals have been retained in the sugar. It is the lack of nutrients in sugar that makes it so detrimental to the body. You can tell how refined a sugar is by its vitamin and mineral content. You should know that no sugar is completely nutritious. Unless you are eating the whole natural sugar cane, you are not getting the full amount of nutrients. However, some are more nutrient dense than others. As you can see from the chart below, evaporated cane juice lacks vitamins and minerals in comparison to Rapadura, and plain white sugar contains just about nothing. Nutrition? How sugars compare Amounts based on 100 grams | White Sugar | Raw Brown Sugar (Sugar in the Raw) | Evaporated Cane Juice | Sucanat | Rapadura | Minerals | | | | | | Potassium (mg) | 3-5 | 15-150 | 17-40 | 570 | 600-1,000 | Magnesium (mg) | 0 | 13-23 | 3-6 | 8.7 | 40-100 | Calcium (mg) | 10-15 | 75-95 | 20-40 | 110 | 80-110 | Phosphorous (mg) | 0.3 | 3-4 | 3-7 | 37 | 50-100 | Vitamins | | | | | | A (IU) | 0 | 0 | <20 | <20 | 120-1,200 | B1 (mg) | 0 | 0.01 | N/A | 0.007 | 0.023-0.1 | B2 (mg) | 0 | 0.006 | N/A | 0.55 | 0.06-0.15 | B6 (mg) | 0 | 0.01 | N/A | 0.27 | 0.02-0.05 | Niacin (mg) | 0 | 0.03 | <0.5 | 0.7 | 0.03-0.19 | Pantothenic Acid (mg) | 0 | 0.02 | 0.01-0.05 | 0.33 | 0.34-1.18 |
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Dee McCaffrey
http://www.plandee.org |
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Janet
Registered: 08/02/07
Posts: 9
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| | 10/05/07 at 09:35 AM | Reply with quote | #3 |
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Wow, Dee, thanks for that info. Looks like Sugar in the Raw may actually be better than the evap cane juice!
Where do demerara and turbinado fit into the picture? Do you have the nutrition details for those? As I said, I've been buying the bulk turbinado from Sprouts.
Also, do you know where I can find rapadura? I've never actually seen it in a store that I can recall.
Thanks so much!
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Janet |
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deemccaffrey
Registered: 05/21/06
Posts: 899
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