Talking about sugar being good for health, then natural sugar or stevia is the best. They have many health benefits to offer apart from weight loss. It has all the essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that are essential for your body. While stevia is also known to be the best sugar for weight loss.
Sweeteners like fruit juice, honey, molasses and maple syrup contain natural sugar and have some nutritional benefits. Fruit has fiber, vitamins and antioxidants. Even raw honey and maple syrup can contain antioxidants and minerals like iron, zinc, calcium and potassium.
Brown sugar is definitely a healthier option than refined white sugar. It is processed in a completely natural way to maintain as much of the sugarcane's natural nutrition as possible, including vitamins and minerals.
"Honey's advantages over sugar include a slightly lower glycemic index (i.e. it doesn't affect your blood-sugar levels as much)," Dr. Dixon says. "It also contains more vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, such as calcium, potassium, vitamin C, zinc, phenolic acids, and flavonoids."
White sugar
They are extracted and refined from the natural sugars that occur in sugar cane and are 99.9% pure sucrose with no minerals.
Because coconut sugar is a plant-based, natural sweetener, some people feel it is more nutritious than regular table sugar. In reality, coconut sugar is almost identical to regular cane sugar in terms of nutrients and calories.
Free sugars are found in foods such as sweets, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, and some fizzy drinks and juice drinks. These are the sugary foods we should cut down on. For example, a can of cola can have as much as 9 cubes of sugar – more than the recommended daily limit for adults.
But if you're eating way too much sugar and your body stops responding properly to insulin, your pancreas starts pumping out even more insulin. Eventually, your overworked pancreas will break down and your blood sugar levels will rise, setting you up for type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Because of its molasses content, brown sugar does contain certain minerals, most notably calcium, potassium, iron and magnesium (white sugar contains none of these). But since these minerals are present in only minuscule amounts, there is no real health benefit to using brown sugar.
Studies suggest that honey might offer antidepressant, anticonvulsant and anti-anxiety benefits. In some studies, honey has been shown to help prevent memory disorders. Wound care. Topical use of medical-grade honey has been shown to promote wound healing, particularly in burns.
Coconut sugar undergoes little processing so, as with other unrefined sugars, it retains some of the natural vitamins, minerals, fibre and antioxidants.
Stevia has zero calories and is low-glycemic, which gives it an edge over conventional sugar—cane sugar delivers 15 calories per 1 teaspoon serving. This makes stevia slightly healthier than sugar.
Of the cane sugars, panela or sucanat has the fewest processing steps and retains the most nutrients. Demerara, turbinado, and muscovado are sometimes called “raw cane sugar,” even though they're not raw. Traditionally, these sugars were only partially refined and retained some natural molasses.
Naturally occurring sugars are found in milk (lactose) and fruit (fructose). Any product that contains milk (such as yogurt, milk or cream) or fruit (fresh, dried) contains some natural sugars.
Sugar Alcohols: Erythritol and Xylitol
Erythritol and xylitol are low calorie sweeteners. Sugar alcohols are considered natural because they are derived from plants, but they are chemically reformulated for use. They taste much like conventional sugar, but can leave a mild aftertaste.
Daily consumption of honey has a beneficial effect on the level of antioxidant compounds in the body that can fight excess cholesterol. Research shows that the antioxidants contained in honey can prevent arteries from narrowing.
Putting honey in tea is a much healthier choice than using sugar. You may be wondering why, considering that honey has just as high of a sugar content as the sugar that you would add to your tea. The makeup of honey and sugar are slightly different. Both have fructose and glucose.