Is brown sugar good for you?

Brown sugar is made by adding molasses to refined white sugar. Both brown and white sugar add calories and nothing else of nutritional value. An excessive amount of sugar in the diet can lead to health problems such as obesity and diabetes.

The idea that brown sugar is nutritionally superior to white sugar stems from the idea that brown foods, such as whole wheat bread and pasta, are healthier than refined white bread and pasta. While this may be true of bread and pasta, the same does not apply to white and brown sugar. Although there is a small amount of some minerals, such as calcium, potassium and iron in brown sugar, the amounts are too small to be of any nutritional value.