Sugar is found in so many different types of foods these days; it's not just in dessert anymore. Sugar is used as a sweetener and a preservative in everything from drinks to salad dressings to sauces and even chips. According to Diabetes Self Management, eating too much sugar is linked to both obesity and cavities. There is not just one type of sugar; there are many different names for sugar, in many different forms.
Corn Syrup
Corn syrup is a type of sugar that may also be called high fructose corn syrup, or simply abbreviated HFCS, on food labels. Family Gentle Dental Care reports that corn syrup is just as bad for your dental health as other types of sugars are -- though some people may not realize that because they associate the word corn with something healthy. High fructose corn syrup is also associated with weight gain, according to Diabetes Self Management.
Fructose
Fructose is another word for sugar used on nutrition labels. Fructose is the type of sugar found naturally in fruits and honey, though it can also be crystallized and added to foods like candy. One benefit that fructose has over other types of sugars is that it doesn't use insulin to transport into the cells of the body, according to Family Gentle Dental Care. Even though fructose doesn't affect blood sugar levels as quickly as other sugars do, one drawback is that fructose may increase triglycerides, reports Diabetes Self Management.
Invert Sugar
Family Gentle Dental Care reports that invert sugar is another commonly used term; it is simply a mixture of the two sugars glucose and fructose. Candy contains invert sugar because it is sweeter than table sugar. Baked goods like donuts contain invert sugar as well, because it allows them to keep their full size without shrinking. Invert sugar does not have any health benefits, though it has several benefits to the food industry.
Turbinado
Turbinado sugar, also called raw sugar or just turbinado on some nutrition labels, is unrefined, natural sugar crystals that have been steamed, according to Diabetes Self Management. Turbinado sugar is a brown color, though it is different than brown sugar. While some people believe that turbinado sugar is healthier than table sugar because it's raw, the reality is that they are both forms of sugar that contribute the same amount of carbohydrates and that raise blood sugar levels the same amount, according to Diabetes Self Management.
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