The honest nutrition page
Calories, daily intake guidance, glycaemic index, and the questions everyone has actually asked: brown vs white, natural vs refined, addictive or not. With evidence, not opinion.
What sugar is, nutritionally
Table sugar is sucrose, a disaccharide made of glucose and fructose bonded together. By weight, it is 50% glucose and 50% fructose. There is no fat, no protein, and no fibre.
- 1 teaspoon of sugar contains approximately 16 calories.
- 1 gram of sugar provides approximately 4 calories.
- There are no significant vitamins or minerals in sugar, with one exception in Zimbabwe: household sugar fortified with Vitamin A under the country's mandatory fortification programme. Read about that on the fortification and health page.
Daily intake recommendations
The World Health Organization recommends reducing free sugar intake to less than 10% of total energy intake. For an average adult eating around 2,000 kcal per day, that is roughly 50 grams or 12 teaspoons of free sugar. A further reduction to below 5% (around 25 g or 6 teaspoons) is suggested for additional health benefits.
"Free sugars" means added sugars and sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, and fruit juices. It does not include sugars naturally present in whole fruit, vegetables, or milk.
Where sugar sits on the GI scale
- White sugar (sucrose): GI of approximately 65, classed as moderate.
- Pure glucose: GI of 100, the reference point.
- White bread: typically GI 70 to 75, often higher than table sugar.
- Brown sugar: similar GI to white sugar; the trace molasses does not meaningfully lower the response.
Glycaemic index measures how quickly a food raises blood glucose, but context matters more than the number. Sugar eaten with fat, fibre, or protein produces a lower glucose response than sugar eaten alone.
Is brown sugar healthier than white sugar?
Nutritionally, almost identical. Brown sugar contains trace minerals (calcium, iron, potassium) from residual molasses, but the amounts are negligible. You would have to eat unrealistic quantities of brown sugar to register any meaningful nutrient difference. Choose brown sugar for flavour, not health benefits.
Does sugar cause diabetes?
Type 2 diabetes is linked to overall diet, body weight, physical activity, and genetics. Sugar consumption alone does not directly cause diabetes. However, excess calorie intake from any source contributes to weight gain, which is a major risk factor. The honest answer: too much of anything energy-dense is a problem, and sugar-sweetened drinks in particular have strong evidence linking them to weight gain.
Is sugar addictive?
The science is contested. Sugar activates the same reward pathways in the brain that food activates generally, and some studies in rats show behaviours that resemble addiction. Most human researchers consider the comparison to drug addiction oversimplified. What is clear: highly processed foods that combine sugar with fat and salt can be very easy to overconsume, regardless of whether that meets a clinical definition of addiction.
Is "natural" sugar healthier than "refined"?
All sugar is chemically sucrose by the time it reaches your bloodstream. Honey, agave, coconut sugar, maple syrup, and refined cane sugar are metabolised in nearly the same way. Some "natural" sugars contain small amounts of antioxidants or trace minerals, but the differences are marginal. The marketing distinction often outsizes the nutritional one.
One more thing about Zimbabwean sugar
Zimbabwe is one of only nine countries in the world that mandatorily fortify household sugar with Vitamin A. Every spoonful of locally produced household sugar carries a small contribution towards closing a nutrient gap that affected nearly one in five Zimbabwean children before fortification began. See the full programme on fortification and health.
Where to next?
Compare different sweeteners on sugar comparisons, see how each type behaves in cooking on sugar in the kitchen, or browse the sugar types page.