How much more healthy is brown pasta compared to white pasta?

[james_pain]

What does everyone think?

 

Also, is brown sugar significantly more healthy than white refined sugar?

 

If so, what's the reason?

[geordief]

Brown pasta is higher GI and (for diabetics ) would cause less of a sugar surge.

 

I doubt brown sugar is any better than white but it does taste more interesting sometimes.

 

Just my feeling......

[Strange]

What does everyone think?

 

Also, is brown sugar significantly more healthy than white refined sugar?

 

If so, what's the reason?

 

Brown pasta is made with whole wheat flour which has some of the bran and wheatgerm in it. This probably means it is slightly more nutritious. Although, in a balanced diet I would expect this is not very significant. (I have never eaten it and the concept is almost as disgusting as brown rice, so I won't be trying it any time soon.)

 

Brown sugar is discoloured by impurities and so is no healthier than white sugar.

[Sensei]

If you want healthy sugars/carbohydrates, eat fruits and vegetables..

[Phi for All]

Brown sugar is discoloured by impurities and so is no healthier than white sugar.

 

I thought molasses added the color, as well as a few extra minerals. I still wouldn't say it's healthier for you though.

[Strange]

 

I thought molasses added the color, as well as a few extra minerals. I still wouldn't say it's healthier for you though.

 

It depends on the type (source) of the sugar, I think. But I say "impurities" because it is not extra nutritional stuff, just things like caramelised sugars and other organic compounds that give colour and flavour. But nothing, as far as I know, that is significant in terms of diet.

 

And, of course, some brown sugar is simply refined white sugar that has been coloured brown!

And apparently you are right: the brown colour is entirely due to molasses.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_sugar

 

Although that is true by definition as molasses is the brown stuff extracted from sugar!

 

And I am wrong: molasses does contain things like vitamin B and minerals. So I guess a case could be made that brown sugar is (very slightly) healthier. In moderation

 

Brown sugar has a slightly lower caloric value by mass than white sugar due to the presence of water. One hundred grams of brown sugar contains 373 calories, as opposed to 396 calories in white sugar.^[4] However, brown sugar packs more densely than white sugar due to the smaller crystal size and may have more calories when measured by volume.

Any minerals present in brown sugar come from the molasses added to the white sugar. Some molasses is a source of calcium, magnesium, potassium, and iron; one tablespoon of molasses provides up to 20% of the daily value of each of those nutrients.

Brown sugar contains minute amounts of minerals, but the difference in its mineral content from white sugar is not enough for added nutritive value in the amounts that sugar is consumed.^[15]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_sugar#Nutritional_value

Edited August 24, 2016 by Strange

[StringJunky]

 

So I guess a case could be made that brown sugar is (very slightly) healthier. In moderation

A bit like saying a bullet covered in penicillin is better than one without it.

[EdEarl]

Whole wheat pasta and other whole grain products have fiber in them that help clean your gut and prevent diverticulitis and intestinal cancer, according to my Dr. Otherwise, there is little difference between whole grain and "white" grain foods AFAIK. My taste buds have been trained to like whole grains, and the white stuff is too bland.

 

Refined sugar is concentrated calories that you probably don't need, and it is easy to eat too much.

[Strange]

A bit like saying a bullet covered in penicillin is better than one without it.

 

Not quite the same. I don't think there is any evidence that small amounts of sugar in the diet are dangerous.

[StringJunky]

 

Not quite the same. I don't think there is any evidence that small amounts of sugar in the diet are dangerous.

No not small amounts. I just meant it as a principle. Sucrose is not good stuff.

[DrP]

Surely it isn't THAT bad small doses?

 

I used to know a woman who insisted it gave you cancer and wouldn't touch it.... unless it was part of her homeopathy treatment - then it was going to be alright apparently. She would also insist that it was worse white because it had been processed, therefore much much worse.... 'cause, you know - it's been processed so that = evil cancer causing scientists have had their way with it. *rollseyes*

[Phi for All]

Surely it isn't THAT bad small doses?

 

I'm not sure it matters as much which type of sugar you're getting compared to how much you're getting. Small doses shouldn't trigger insulin massive insulin production, which is what you want to avoid.

 

On the other hand, folks forget that the complex carbs in the pasta are turning to glucose over a longer period of time. Add too much refined sugar of any type on top of that and you overdose. Blood pressure rises. More fat and salt and water get stored. Cells start making their own cholesterol, ignoring what's already in the blood.

 

So I would say to the OP that it probably matters more what you're eating with your pasta. The differences between white and brown don't seem significant.

[StringJunky]

 

I'm not sure it matters as much which type of sugar you're getting compared to how much you're getting. Small doses shouldn't trigger insulin massive insulin production, which is what you want to avoid.

 

On the other hand, folks forget that the complex carbs in the pasta are turning to glucose over a longer period of time. Add too much refined sugar of any type on top of that and you overdose. Blood pressure rises. More fat and salt and water get stored. Cells start making their own cholesterol, ignoring what's already in the blood.

 

So I would say to the OP that it probably matters more what you're eating with your pasta. The differences between white and brown don't seem significant.

IIRC Sucrose is glucose + fructose. The fructose part, if you have too much and doesn't get used, gets stored as fat in the liver (steatosis) which can lead to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)

 

 

Soft drinks have been linked to NAFLD due to high concentrations of fructose, which may be present either in high-fructose corn syrup or, in similar quantities, as a metabolite of sucrose. The quantity of fructose delivered by soft drinks may cause increased deposition of fat in the abdomen.[8][9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-alcoholic_fatty_liver_disease

Edited August 24, 2016 by StringJunky

[John Cuthber]

If you want healthy sugars/carbohydrates, eat fruits and vegetables..

Practically all the carbohydrates I eat are from fruit + veg.

(Mainly Saccharum officinarum, Solanum tuberosum, Beta vulgaris, Triticum aestivum and zea mays)

 

 

Where would I get the "unhealthy" ones?

[CharonY]

Heh, yeah it is weird that people think that "compound in isolation" from a give source is different from "compound in isolation" from a different one. Or in this case one should replace "compound" with "diverse class of compounds". Whereas the nutritional aspect are more about what else you ingest and how much.

[Sensei]

Heh, yeah it is weird that people think that "compound in isolation" from a give source is different from "compound in isolation" from a different one.

You're simplifying it, or looking from biologist/chemist point of view, instead of physicist.

One can make in laboratory ("source 2") f.e. ethanol were every Hydrogen is replaced by Deuterium. C2H5OH -> C2D5OD

Chance to find such compound in the nature is extremely small.

In the "normal" naturally made ethanol ("source 1") Deuterium will be randomly occurring in this compound.

Edited August 25, 2016 by Sensei

[John Cuthber]

You're simplifying it, or looking from biologist/chemist point of view, instead of physicist.

One can make in laboratory ("source 2") f.e. ethanol were every Hydrogen is replaced by Deuterium. C2H5OH -> C2D5OD

Chance to find such compound in the nature is extremely small.

In the "normal" naturally made ethanol ("source 1") Deuterium will be randomly occurring in this compound.

God alone knows what position you are looking at it from.

But changing all the hydrogens for deuterium makes it a different chemical. (different boiling point, different rates of reaction and- from a biological perspective- I suspect it smells different too)

In any event, it has little or nothing to do with the issue.

 

Why not answer the questions?

Where else would I get my carbohydrates?

and

How is the carbohydrate different from the carbohydrate?

[Sirona]

 

Not quite the same. I don't think there is any evidence that small amounts of sugar in the diet are dangerous.

 

As far as I know, there isn't. High protein, low carbohydrate diets have been fashionable in Australia in the last few years and I believe David Gillespie's 'Sweet Poison' heightened the sugar anxiety. For the majority of people, the only factors involved in successful weight loss and maintenance is going to be through calorie control and exercise. The problem with sugar is that it's calorific but not nutritious, so you're essentially eating 'empty calories' and not feeling satiated. For some people, especially those who are insulin resistant or diabetic, it increases hunger because it raises insulin levels. However, complex carbohydrates, especially bread, cereal and pasta also contain fat and protein, along with various vitamins and minerals, unlike refined sugar. Therefore, they are not 'empty' calories and will keep you satiated if they are low GI. Although, if you consume less calories than you burn, then you're going to lose weight regardless of what you eat.

 

It is important to have a healthy relationship with food too though. Eliminating whole food groups will most likely lead to vitamin and mineral deficiencies, poor concentration and performance and increased cravings and appetite problems. It is better to fill up on healthy whole foods such as meat, whole grains and fruits and vegetables first, then have the small slice of ice cream or sweet biscuit if you have room.

 

Food for most of us is now so abundant and there are many cheap, low nutritional, processed and calorific food available to us and it's causing an obesity epidemic and it is also impacting the environment because people are eating more and wasting more. I personally think it is important to buy high quality and sustainable fresh produce but to purchase less of it. Avoid buying in bulk and shop more frequently so you do not overestimate how much you need.