It is believed that cane sugar was discovered before the birth of Christ. As early as 500 BC, India is said of a “reed which gives honey without bees.” This rod was later known as cane sugar.
The invasion of Arabs in India nearly 1000 years later, in 642 AD led to the spread of sugar cane for the rest of the world. The Arabs discovered sugar cane and learned how it was processed by the Indians. They brought the cane with them as they conquered much of Europe, presenting a land such as North Africa and Spain. For many years, however, the rest of Europe was caught with honey, sugar, because they do in the west to the Crusades. The first record of sugar is produced in England in 1099.
Sugar Processing
Sugar was brought to the Americas by Christopher Columbus. At the time, sugar was processed by boiling organic cane sugar juice and then harvesting the crystals left behind after the water evaporated. These crystals contained protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals. While calorie-dense, providing essential nutrients. It was not until a few centuries after the sugar refining process, and stripping out many of these nutrients, was perfected and sugar became a profitable industry
Raw sugar
The organic cane sugar crystals are harvested, washed, boiled, centrifuged, filtered and dried. The purpose of this is to remove all the original plant materials (stalk, fiber, etc.) to produce the pure sugar. This process removes most of the fiber and nutrients that existed in the original crystals. The sugar then becomes refined, and is now a food high in calories with little nutritional value.
Several centuries ago, refined sugars are expensive to produce, and were also taxed at a higher rate. Therefore, only the rich could afford them. Refined products became a status symbol. People who have access to these foods are called “refined” people. Interestingly, this affluent sector of the population also has a disproportionate rate of disease and illness, compared with the lower classes that only have access to free, natural foods. It does not seem that the references to the evils of sugar as early as 1800 when the rations in the military compared to the standard of food and civil determined that refined foods had a potentially negative impact on health.
Is sugar bad?
Sugar has received a bad reputation lately – not just refined sugars, but all sugars. Many people go out of their way to avoid sugar in the diet, without understanding how sugar affects health. Artificial sweeteners are a substitute for sugar, but are these synthetic chemicals truly safe? For many people, sugar free and fat-free food is an artificial “crutch” – comforted in the knowledge that their food does not contain sugar or fat, they consume more of this “safe” food. When all is said and done, the sugar can not become the enemy that many people claim it is.
There are some reasons why sugar has a bad reputation. On the one hand, refined sugars provide food for oral bacteria, and can promote cavities and plaque buildup. There is also a prevailing belief that all simple carbohydrates are bad. In fact, the digestive system is very complex and there is more to consider not only the number of molecules chained together in a meal – you have to consider the enzymes, where food is processed in the body, and what changes occur to food before the body is used.
How sugar is metabolized?
All carbohydrates are technically sugar. Before your body use carbohydrates in table sugar, a baked potato, or a green bean, you must break this carbohydrate to glucose, a sugar that your body can “burn” energy . Glucose is also stored as glycogen in muscle cells. Therefore, carbohydrates, and that all perish as sugar, the mere fact that they begin as sugars is irrelevant. So what is relevant? The rate at which sugar enters the bloodstream, which is exactly what the glycemic index measures.