A guide to choosing the best sugars, syrups, and sweeteners for you
A guide to choosing the best sugars, syrups, and sweeteners for you
The first WhatSugar–approved sweetener is HERE!
Bear with us as we update our guides for 2025.
WHAT IS SUGAR, ANYWAY?
Chemically speaking, sugars are the smallest and simplest type of carbohydrates. They're easily digested and absorbed by the body, making them a quick source of energy. There're 2 main types of sugar:
• Simple sugars are small enough to be absorbed directly into the bloodstream. These include glucose, fructose, and galactose.
• Double sugars, as the name implies, contain two simple sugars linked together and are broken down in the body into simple sugars. Examples are sucrose, maltose, and lactose.
Caloric Sweeteners are made up of simple and/or double sugars in concentrated form. They're often a blend of sucrose, glucose, and fructose. And here's how they differ:
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY "SUGAR"?
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The term "sugar" encompasses a wide array of sweeteners from many different sources, not only from cane and beet: Sucrose from cane and beet is what we most often refer to as "sugar". However, chemically speaking, sugar means a simple carbohydrate from any source and, from a food science perspective, it is used to indicate the so-called "caloric sweeteners".
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Sources are saps, starches, fruits, and milk: Sugars may be concentrated saps (fluid, nectar) from plants such as sugarcane, sugarbeet, agave, maple trees, coconut palm tree, sorghum, and flowers. In addition, they may be produced by breaking down starches — from corn, brown rice, barley, or tapioca. They may also be extracted from fruits and milk. Keep scrolling to see them all.
BREAKING DOWN "SUGAR"
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No matter where those sweeteners come from, they contain two major portions—sugar and water. Honey is about 80 percent sugar, maple syrup is 66 percent, agave is 69 to 77 percent, and table sugar is 99.9 percent. The remaining is mostly water — liquid sweeteners contain from about 20 to 35 percent water and granulated sweeteners from 0.03 to 7 percent water. They do differ in how they affect the taste and the texture of foods.
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We can buy sugar in a variety of forms, such as granulated, cubes, tablets, liquids, and syrups. Sweeteners in solid or crystallized form, such as coconut, date, and table sugar, have over 90 percent sugars and provide about 15 calories per teaspoon. Sweeteners in liquid forms, such as in maple syrup, agave, and honey, have over 50 percent sugar and provide approximately 20 calories per teaspoon.
THE SUGAR PORTION IS BROKEN DOWN INTO GLUCOSE & FRUCTOSE
Most sweeteners contain sucrose, glucose, and fructose in various proportions: Sucrose is a double sugar made up of two single sugars — glucose and fructose — stuck together. Because sucrose is split by digestive enzymes into glucose and fructose, our bodies recognize those sweeteners as a blend of glucose and fructose (see chart below).
In most varieties of honey and agave nectar, fructose is present in higher amounts than glucose. Maple syrup, coconut sugar, cane & beet sweeteners have about the same amount of fructose and glucose. Starch-derived sweeteners such as barley malt, brown rice, tapioca, and corn syrups are fructose-free.
"NATURAL" VERSUS "NATURALLY OCCURRING"
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The sweeteners I call "sugars" are referred to as "added sugars" by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the American Heart Association, and in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025. The World Health Organization calls them "free sugars". In addition, the FDA defines those sweeteners (except blends) as single-ingredient sugars which are "intended to be consumed alone or added to foods by consumers, and thus will be an added sugar to the diet when consumed".
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These definitions exclude intrinsic and intact sugars—also known as "naturally occurring"—found in whole foods like milk and fruits. Be aware that "naturally occurring" is not the same as "natural." Let's take fructose to draw a comparison. The store-bought fructose is a natural sugar; it's a synthetic sweetener that can be made from corn and table sugar. On the other hand, fructose in an apple is a naturally occurring sugar. Read two of my blog posts to learn exactly what a natural sweetener means:
THE GLYCEMIC INDEX OF SUGARS
A flawed guide for choosing the healthiest sugars
I'm always asked Which sugar is healthiest? or Which sugar has the lowest glycemic index?
Here's the truth: When it comes to comparing sugars, the glycemic index (GI) is meaningless.
As said before, sugars, also known as caloric sweeteners, are primarily made up of glucose and/or fructose (see chart above). Once digested, they all end up as glucose in your body. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Sucanat, muscovado, table sugar, honey, maple syrup, or any of the 80 sweeteners I’ve listed on this page.
Some sugars have a low GI, which would put them in the “healthy” range of the scale. However, that does NOT make them healthier than table sugar.
Take agave nectar, for example. A low GI of 34 doesn’t make it better for you when compared to white refined sugar. It just means that it contains more fructose (see chart above).
Fructose ranks very low on the glycemic index scale (GI=19) because the GI measures ONLY glucose. Fructose doesn't immediately increase blood sugar levels as it takes twice as long to be absorbed, AND it must be converted into glucose by the liver before your body can use it. So, this “time delay” — from the time fructose is digested to when it becomes available as glucose — skews the GI score, making it appear healthier when it’s not.
The bottom line? The glycemic index is not a reliable tool for comparing sugars. Focus instead on overall sugar consumption and choosing the right sweetener for your needs.
EXPLORE "SUGAR" BRANDS & PRODUCTS
There is A LOT to see here. Scroll down to explore it all, or if you're short on time, make your choice below:
Click the TRY IT button of each sweetener to be linked to Amazon
where you can read reviews, labels, Q&As, and prices.
Affiliate links help keep this content free (Full disclosure)
The most common beet sugars found on the market are (fine or extra fine) granulated sugar, (light or dark) brown sugar and confectioners sugar
Non-GMO beet sugars & syrups are usually imported from Europe where genetically modified sugar beets are not grown. In the U.S., bioengineered sugar beets are grown and sent to sugar factories to be processed into refined sugar.
An invert syrup made from beet sugar. Non-gmo, since it is produced in Europe.
Some sugar marketers, such as United Sugars Corporation and Cargill, may combine cane and beet sugar. Some granulated, brown and confectioners sugars available on the market might be cane sugar mixed with beet sugar. Most store brands are a blend of both, unless the label states it is 'cane sugar'. By law, the use of the term 'sugar' in food labels is for cane or beet sugar only. Sugar manufacturers and distributors are not required to mention the source - if from beet or cane.
Decorative sugars, such as pearl sugars, are made by crushing blocks of white refined sugar or by pushing sugar through an extrusion die. Shaped like irregular little balls, these sugars are typically used to decorate the tops of baked goods as they do not melt during the baking process.
Some commercial sugars are combinations of refined sugar (sucrose from cane or beet) and sugars from other sources such glucose, lactose and coconut sugar.
From Sap (Plant Nectar or Fluid),
Starch, Fruit & Milk
Fruit Juice Concentrates (FJC) are made by evaporating most of the water of a fruit juice, usually from grapes, apples or pears. Contain different proportions of fructose, glucose and sucrose depending on the fruit used. Provide 40-60 Calories per tablespoon. A typical FJC is sweeter than table sugar.
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