Is Brown Sugar Better than White? Let's Compare!

Who loves sweet? What do you prefer? ... white... or brown sugar?

Chocolate is made from cocoa derived from cocoa beans, which contain antioxidants called polyphenols, more specifically epicatchins. Cocoa is quite bitter on its own, so sugar and cocoa butter are usually added to develop the smooth taste of chocolate you know and love! Cocoa contains antioxidants and generally, the more cocoa in a product, the more antioxidants. 

That’s why dark chocolate is a better source of antioxidants when compared to regular milk or white chocolate. So why not try our Club 70% cocoa rich and intense dark chocolate! The richer flavour of dark chocolate can help you satisfy that chocolate craving while eating less – an added bonus!

Despite its benefits, dark chocolate is still high in fat and sugar and should be considered a treat to be enjoyed in moderation. This means when you want to indulge, do so using a small amount of high quality chocolate and savour every bite! Like choosing from a selection of Club, which combines the velvety smooth texture of rich dark chocolate with a range of classic and sumptuous flavours to create an intensely pleasurable chocolate experience!

Set the record straight once and for all, and find out what nutrition myths have been busted.

Adding milk to coffee does not impact the antioxidant activity 

• TRUE     Evidence suggests that adding milk to coffee does not have an impact on the antioxidant activity. You can still enjoy your cup of coffee the way you usually have it and still absorb the antioxidants naturally found in coffee.  

Green leafy vegetables are a good source of calcium 

•  FALSE     Green leafy vegetables absorb minerals from the soil, so they can contain small amounts of calcium, although this is much less than dairy products. For example 1 cup of spinach provides 30mg of calcium, where 1 glass of milk provides 300mg of calcium. You can see you would have to eat huge amounts of green leafy vegetables to get your daily calcium needs of 1000mg. So, while green leafy vegetables are important for folate, fibre and antioxidants, make sure you eat other foods for calcium. Foods like reduced-fat dairy, canned salmon with the bones and calcium-fortified soy milk contain calcium. 

If something is low in fat I can eat more of it 

•  FALSE     Focusing solely on a food’s fat content is only telling half the story. That’s because a low fat food might still differ in essential nutrients or be high in sugar, and therefore its kilojoule content – or how much energy a food has – might be higher than you expect.

Rock salt is better for you than ordinary salt 

•  FALSE     There’s is no difference between the two types of salt except their name and that they can have a different crystal size. Both have the same effect in your body. Too much salt can affect your heart health, so it is best to be used sparingly. Most Australians already eat more than the recommended amount of salt each day. Most of the salt that we eat comes from manufactured foods like bread and snacks, so there’s no need to add any extra.

Aspartame causes cancer 

•  FALSE     Aspartame is one of the most thoroughly tested ingredients used in food. Recent safety reviews by scientific committees in Canada, Europe, France and the UK all confirm that aspartame is safe for use and does not cause cancer. Food Standards Australia & New Zealand (FSANZ), therefore allow it to be used as a sweetener in foods like diet drinks and snacks. Foods sweetened with aspartame are lower in kilojoules and can help reduce energy intake and control blood glucose levels.

Eating too much sugar causes type two diabetes 

•  FALSE     Even though one of the symptoms of diabetes is high levels of sugar (glucose) in the blood, eating sugar doesn’t directly cause diabetes. Type two diabetes is a lifestyle disease caused by a number of things, such as family history, lack of exercise and becoming overweight or obese. Someone without the genetic predisposition would not develop diabetes, no matter how much sugar he/she consumed.

Brown sugar is better for you than white sugar 

•  FALSE     The only difference between brown and white sugar is that brown sugar contains molasses, which has a caramel aroma and flavour, while white sugar has been refined to remove the molasses. Both of these sugars provide the same amount of energy (kilojoules), so the truth is that your body can’t really tell the difference.

Skipping meals is a good way to lose weight 

•  FALSE     It may seem logical that skipping a meal will help you lose weight because you eat less, but it’s not that simple. Missing out on meals can actually have the opposite effect. Your body goes into ‘survival mode’, slowing down your metabolism and conserving energy rather than using it up.

Skipping meals can also make you hungrier, and more likely to snack on high fat or sugar foods. A better way to reach and maintain a healthy weight is eat small meals regularly throughout the day and find ways to be more active.

Raw vegetables are always better than cooked vegetables 

•  FALSE     Not so. The amount nutrients you get from vegetables can differ for a number of reasons, such as how long you store them and how (or if) you cook them. Although cooking vegetables can lose nutrients, cooking can sometimes increase the amount of nutrients available to the body. An example of this is the antioxidant lycopene in tomatoes. Cooking tomatoes releases more lycopene than is available in raw tomatoes.

Loss of nutrients can occur in cooking because some vitamins, like Vitamins B and C dissolve in water. Some can be lost if the vegetables are boiled for too long. Steaming or stir-frying helps retain the vitamins when you cook vegetables. The fact of the matter is vegetables are powerhouses of nutrition, no matter which way you eat them. Whether raw or cooked, five serves of vegetables a day are recommended for good nutrition.

Sugar makes kids hyperactive

•  FALSE     Does your child come home from birthday parties bouncing off the walls? Do you think it’s all the sugar in the party food? It’s actually not the party food. The reason they’re hyped-up is more likely due to all of the excitement and activity at the party rather than the sugar in the party food. Studies have shown no direct link between consumption of sugary foods and increased hyperactivity in children. It is important to note however, that the Australian Dietary Guidelines for children and Adolescents advise to “consume only moderate amounts of sugar and foods containing added sugars”

Note:  Information from Nestle website