Refined White Sugar Vs Cane/Brown Sugar (& Coke)

[mogwog]

So I've been running a little experiment lately to try and understand what's been causing major bloating issues in my gut and noticed that refined white sugar keeps my energy levels high with zero digestive distress, in contrast to brown/cane sugar, coke AND maple syrup which cause almost an immediate reaction and gas that lasts the entire day.

The maple syrup is marked organic, so is the cane sugar. The brown sugar is a cheap brand like the refined white sugar (Lantic brand). I'm somewhat surprised by this, as I was expecting the white sugar to have a similar reaction. Any one has an idea on what they think might be going on?

 

[Rafael Lao Wai]

White sugar has pretty much all of the impurities in the sugarcane removed during its processing, so what's left is basically pure sucrose, without the proteins, fiber, plant substances etc. that can be irritating to the intestine.

Unrefined/ brown sugar still has a significant amount of residues from the sugarcane, and the fact that it's brown means that some of the residues or even the sucrose itself has burned a little bit, which can make it irritating to the gut. Maple syrup seems to follow this same reasoning, as it's really not as refined as white sugar.

Coke has caramel in it, which is burned sugar, so that may be why your gut doesn't like it. Also, the kola nut extract may also be responsible for the side-effects you may be experiencing. It's probably not the white sugar in coke, since you tolerate it by itself.

 

[mogwog]

Thanks for your reply @Rafael Lao Wai. I was thinking this might be pointing to my gut integrity being compromised (bacterial overgrowth, etc.) as well.

 

[Gone Peating]

You could also try mexican coke

I don't feel great when i drink hfcs coke. I was surprised how much better i felt from a mexican coke with my dinner (also tastes better too)

 

[mogwog]

You could also try mexican coke

I don't feel great when i drink hfcs coke. I was surprised how much better i felt from a mexican coke with my dinner (also tastes better too)

The coke I drink doesn't have HFCS in it.

 

[Dr. B]

White sugar has pretty much all of the impurities in the sugarcane removed during its processing, so what's left is basically pure sucrose, without the proteins, fiber, plant substances etc. that can be irritating to the intestine.

Unrefined/ brown sugar still has a significant amount of residues from the sugarcane, and the fact that it's brown means that some of the residues or even the sucrose itself has burned a little bit, which can make it irritating to the gut. Maple syrup seems to follow this same reasoning, as it's really not as refined as white sugar.

Coke has caramel in it, which is burned sugar, so that may be why your gut doesn't like it. Also, the kola nut extract may also be responsible for the side-effects you may be experiencing. It's probably not the white sugar in coke, since you tolerate it by itself.

coke has kola nut extract? i thought its just coca leaf extract?? i hadnt heard of kola nut extract...
and i thought coke just has sugar, caramel color, phosphoric acid, and caffeine. the caramel color i think is different than the burned sugar caramel. although the flavor of coke could be described as caramel, is it heated after being mixed with the sugar?

maple syrup is somewhat like caramel and some darker honeys also are like caramel

 

[Rafael Lao Wai]

coke has kola nut extract? i thought its just coca leaf extract?? i hadnt heard of kola nut extract...
and i thought coke just has sugar, caramel color, phosphoric acid, and caffeine. the caramel color i think is different than the burned sugar caramel. although the flavor of coke could be described as caramel, is it heated after being mixed with the sugar?

maple syrup is somewhat like caramel and some darker honeys also are like caramel

In my country( Brazil), they still list kola nut extract as an ingredient. Someone said in another thread that coke wouldn't taste like it does without kola nut extract, though some sources say that the Coca cola company doesn't use it anymore, relying instead on artificial flavours. From Kola nut - Wikipedia :
"The kola nut has a bitter flavor and contains caffeine. It is chewed in many West African countries, in both private and social settings.[4] It is often used ceremonially, presented to chiefs or guests.[5] In folk medicine, kola nuts are considered useful for aiding digestion when ground and mixed with honey, and are used as a remedy for coughs.[6] Kola nuts are perhaps best known to Western culture as a flavoring ingredient and one of the sources of caffeine in cola and other similarly flavored beverages, although kola nut extract is no longer used in major commercial cola drinks such as Coca-Cola.[1][7]"

Other sites claim they still use it, so it's a bit confusing.

Regarding the caramel color, they use some ammonium in its production: Caramel color - Wikipedia