I'm not an expert on the matter, only a very concerned human being and father - and ex-hypoglycemic -, so after studying a lot on the matter, I finally boiled it down to the following.
As far as I'm concerned, for practical purposes there are only two interesting distinctions in the sugar debate. The first one is "simple" and "complex" sugars (or "slow" and "fast"). The second one is "refined" and "unrefined" sugars.
Traditional Chinese Medicine has an interesting concept of "full sweets" in contrast to "empty sweet", which incorporates also these distinctions, and which I'll touch briefly here.
Most other distinctions and notions about sugar don't have much practical use at home, and even tend to confuse an otherwise rather simple matter.
Simple vs. complex
Sugars are made up of chains of molecules, and according to the type of sugar, these chains are longer or shorter, or more precisely: "complex" or "simple". Maltose, for instance, the main ingredient in barley malt suryp, is a complex sugar, a long chain. Glucose on the other hand, found in soft-drinks for instance, is a simple sugar, a short chain. So are fructose and sucrose.
What you should know about sugar in this respect is that consumption of simple sugars causes dramatic effects in the body, shocks really, whereas complex sugars are much more moderate, much more easy-going on the body.
Refined vs. unrefined
The second important distinction is between "refined" and "unrefined" sugars(1). Starting from cane juice for instance, you can just evaporate the water and consume it as such - this is the only truly "unrefined" cane sugar. Nothing, except the water (together with the unedible portion and impurities of course), has been removed from the original plant.
However, you can also submit it to a long process in the refinery, and the further you go down this process, the more refined the resulting product. First you can centrifuge it (separating the molasses), and then you can refine it further and further by various processes (some of them very unhealthful using chemicals), producing lighter and lighter grades of cane sugar, until you end up with "white" sugar. The result of every step in this process is still called "cane sugar", but whereas the original, whole, evaporated cane juice is full of minerals and vitamins, with each step in the process some of these are lost, until finally, in the white sugar, they have all virtually disappeared, and you retain only the pure sucrose, the pure "sugar". This is of course also the sweetest, shockingly sweet even, but if you decided to stop shocking your body and start taking care of it, you will want to avoid refined sugars and stick with the unrefined ones.
As explained in "On sugar and sweeteners..." and "Foods that feed you, and foods that feed UPON you....", refined sugars are very unhealthful, while unrefined sugars can be actually nurturing and help to prevent illnesses.
Empty sweets vs. full sweets
An interesting notion in Traditional Chinese Medicine that also embodies the previous distictions, is that of "empty sweet" and "full sweet":
"The ['full'] sweetness found in grains, dairy, meat, legumes, and some vegetables like squash, carrots and yams strengthens the spleen-pancreas and helps build energy. These foods satisfy the sweet tooth.
'Empty sweets' (...) are those primarily composed of simple sugars (sweet fruits, juices, honey, sugar, and other sweeteners). These foods give a short-term energy boost by increasing the amount of sugar in the blood. When concentrated or used in excess, sweets damage the spleen-pancreas. Excessive use leads to chronic fatigue, bodily weakness, edema, and various digestive problems."(2)
Where do all the sweeteners and sugars fit in?
The final step in being able to use sugars and sweeteners wisely, is to know which are the complex and unrefined sugars. Because these are the ones you want to consume, and these are the ones you want to give to your child. Once you made that decision, it's really easy: you seek out the healthful sugars and sweeteners, and you simply avoid all the rest. Very easy indeed, because in the supermarket or regular shop or grocery store, for instance, you can just completely ignore about anything that is sweet. You'll have to go to a health food store, and there, closely examine the ingredient lists. Don't think that because you're in a "health food store" all the food is healthful! Because there you (probably) will find healthful alternatives, but not only those - there also you will find an astonishing variety of very unhealthful foods.
So, in a nutshell, here's what you want to look out for:
- complex sugars, unrefined - highly recommended: barley malt syrup, rice syrup, and amasake
- simple sugars, unrefined - very acceptable but use moderately : (dried) fruit; fruit juice; honey; date sugar; unrefined dried cane juice ("rapadura"); maple syrup; molasses.
Simply avoid all the rest, including all cane sugar that is not rapadura (even if it says "unrefined"), fructose, aspartame, and so on...
Related articles in this blog:
- "Foods that feed you, and foods that feed UPON you" - about refined and unrefined food in general
- "On sugar and sweeteners": some extensive quotes by experts on most kinds of sugar and their advantages and disadvantages
Footnotes:
(1) For an introductory article on the benefits of unrefined (also known as "whole") foods in general and the drawbacks of refined foods, see "Foods that feed you, and foods that feed UPON you...."
(2) Rebecca Wood, "The new whole foods encyclopedia: a comprehensive resource for healthy eating", foreword by Paul pitchford, revised and updated ed., 1999, Penguin Books, p.331
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