What鈥檚 the Difference Between Sugar in Fruit and Sugar in Sweets and Candy?

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She joined Britannica in 2006 and...</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Kara Rogers</span></div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div></div> </div> <article class="topic-content content mt-20"><figure class="md-assembly md-feature-assembly print-false" data-type="1" data-descid="1"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/73/239573-050-E9A4DB36/sugar-cubes.jpg" target="_blank" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center " data-href="*"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/73/239573-050-E9A4DB36/sugar-cubes.jpg?w=600&q=60" alt="Zoomed in photo of a pile of sugar cubes in a wooden stop on a wooden table." data-width="1600" data-height="1067" loading="eager"><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class=""><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div><cite class="credit d-block mt-5">漏 Cozine/stock.adobe.com</cite></figcaption></figure> <p class="topic-paragraph">Sugar in fruit and sugar in processed foods are not the same. Fruits contain sugars known as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/fructose" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">fructose</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/glucose" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">glucose</a>. When these sugars are combined, the result is <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/sucrose" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">sucrose</a> (commonly called table sugar or white sugar). Sucrose occurs naturally in almost all plants but is especially abundant in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/sugarcane" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">sugarcane</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/sugar-beet" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">sugar beets</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/sugar-maple" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">sugar maple</a> sap, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/date-palm" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">dates</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/honey" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">honey</a>. Sucrose is produced commercially (mostly from sugarcane and sugar beets) for use as an industrial sweetener that can be added to foods and beverages. Processed sugar is concentrated and refined and thus has been exposed to various factors, including reagents and chemical reactions that remove colorants and that facilitate crystallization. </p><span class="MOD1"></span> <p class="topic-paragraph">Although sucrose is found in most plants, with few exceptions (e.g., sugarcane, sugar beets) it does not occur in very high concentrations. Thus, the major sugars鈥攆ructose, glucose, and sucrose鈥攇enerally are not very dense in fresh fruits. A medium-sized apple, for example, contains about 19 grams of sugar. </p><span class="MOD2"></span> <p class="topic-paragraph">By contrast, soft drinks and sweets are very dense in processed sugar. A chocolate candy bar contains, on average, about 35 grams of sugar, while one soft drink can have as many as 39 grams of sugar. In addition, whereas fruits contain many other nutrients, like <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/vitamin-C" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">vitamin C</a>, and fiber, sweets lack these healthy components. The relatively low sugar levels, in combination with fiber and other nutrients, help guard against sudden increases in sugar in the blood, which is important for people with <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/diabetes-mellitus" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">diabetes</a>. </p><span class="MOD3"></span> <p class="topic-paragraph">Of course, eating too much fruit is not necessarily healthy either. And watch out for dried fruits and fruit juice鈥攕ugar concentrations are higher in dried fruits compared to fresh fruits and also in fruit juices with added sugars.</p><span class="MOD4"></span> <span class="AM-END-OF-ARTICLE am-inline"></span></article> </div> </div> </div> <aside class="cm-rightrail d-none d-md-block ad-rail"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </main> <div class="grid gx-0"> <div class="col"> <div class="md-loading hidden display-4 font-weight-normal"></div> <div class="text-center my-20 mb-100"> <button class="md-infinite-load-next btn btn-blue" data-value="next-page">Load More</button> </div> </div> <div class="col-md-da-320 hidden-xs"> </div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Story","templateName":"COMPANION","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":10,"pageId":12900,"pageLength":null,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/story-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"A","adLeg":"A","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Story","pageSubtype":"COMPANION","articleTemplateType":null,"gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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What鈥檚 the Difference Between Sugar in Fruit and Sugar in Sweets and Candy? | Britannica