Turbinado And Dark Brown Sugar?

[Infarouge]

Bleached white table sugar is stripped of all the amazing minerals found in sugar cane. What is the Peat position on "whole" sugars like turbinado or dark brown? Molasses is known to be a very healthy substance, which is what is removed leaving white table sugar.

 

[Dave Clark]

I had heard Peat say he preferred white sugar over the brown or molasses. I am not sure, but I think he doesn't like the natural minerals like iron, etc. that are in the brown sugars, etc. Someone can correct me if I heard him wrong, or if he changed his position on it.

 

[Infarouge]

Reported iron content of 1 teaspoon of blackstrap molasses ranges from 3% to 20% of RDA. It is non-heme iron so it is poorly absorbed. The amount of iron in brown sugar is negligible, 7mg per KG. You would have to eat 2kg of dark brown sugar to approach the RDA for iron, even if you could absorb non-heme iron entirely, which no one can.

Besides, not liking natural minerals doesn't sound very compelling.

 

[Dave Clark]

Reported iron content of 1 teaspoon of blackstrap molasses ranges from 3% to 20% of RDA. It is non-heme iron so it is poorly absorbed. The amount of iron in brown sugar is negligible, 7mg per KG. You would have to eat 2kg of dark brown sugar to approach the RDA for iron, even if you could absorb non-heme iron entirely, which no one can.

Besides, not liking natural minerals doesn't sound very compelling.

I hear what you are saying. I personally use coconut palm sugar, has a nice molasses type taste. There are a lot of natural things that Peat doesn't like, especially things that come from plants. He also recommends white salt over sea salt or other salts with minerals. So, just like a lot of other Peat ideas, you are either for or against some of them in concept, like antibiotics, etc. I, for now, until I see greater evidence to dissuade me, tend to go with non-refined products that are natural and have natural minerals, etc.

 

[Infarouge]

Agree. I'm going with organic turbinado after I found it half price. The sugar cane plant has some of the deepest root systems (~14 feet) reaching microminerals rare in the modern diet.

 

[tara]

I think Peat has expressed concerns about potentially harmful chemicals produced by extreme heating in the processing of some syrups.

But I sometimes add a bit of molasses or panela to food I prepare, in the hope of getting useful minerals. Too much refined sucrose seemed to be causing me trouble.