Is Cane Sugar Bad For You? Health Effects And Comparisons

Cane sugar is a popular sweetener that comes from sugar cane or sugar beets. The most common form is white table sugar, which is highly processed and stripped of most nutrients during refining.

Cane sugar isn’t bad for you in small amounts, but having too much too often can raise your risk for health problems.

Cane sugar is considered an added sugar. Diets high in added sugar can affect your health in several ways:

Weight gain: Cane sugar is high in calories but low in nutrients that help keep you full. It can also increase cravings for sugary foods, which may lead to weight gain.
Type 2 diabetes risk: Eating too much sugar can increase insulin resistance, which occurs when the cells do not respond well to the hormone insulin. This raises blood sugar levels and increases the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Heart health: Studies have shown that diets high in added sugar can increase levels of the blood fat triglyceride and raise cardiovascular (heart and blood vessel) disease risk.
Fatigue: Cane sugar can cause a quick rise in blood sugar, followed by a crash. This drop in energy may leave you feeling tired, sluggish, or craving more sugar for a quick boost.
Dental health: Sugar feeds the bacteria in your mouth that cause cavities and tooth decay.
Brain function: High sugar intake can affect the brain, increasing anxiety, stress, and depression. Over time, it may also contribute to memory loss.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends adults limit added sugars to no more than 6% of daily calories. On a 2,000-calorie diet, that’s about 25–36 grams, or 6–9 teaspoons, per day.

Cane sugar comes from natural sources but is refined, which removes nearly all vitamins and minerals. Less processed forms, like raw cane sugar, contain trace amounts of nutrients, but likely not enough to benefit your health.

Here’s how cane sugar compares to other sweeteners:

Sweetener	Calories (per tablespoon)	Source	Nutrients
Raw Cane Sugar	45	Sugar cane plant	Trace amounts of magnesium, calcium, and potassium; antioxidants
High-Fructose Corn Syrup	53.4	Corn starch	None
Honey	63.8	Honeycomb of the honey bee	Small amounts of phosphorus, calcium, potassium, and magnesium; antioxidants
Agave Syrup	60	Sap of agave plants	Most types are highly processed, which removes nearly all beneficial nutrients
Table Sugar	45	Sugar cane or sugar beets	None
Monk Fruit	0	Juice of monk fruit	Mogrosides (sweet substances in the plant), which have antioxidant properties
Stevia	0	Stevia rebaudiana plant	Antioxidants

Most sweeteners have a similar calorie count, around 45–65 calories per tablespoon. They count as added sugar sources and have similar health effects when consumed in excess.

Zero-calorie sweeteners like stevia and monk fruit provide sweetness without calories and may also offer antioxidant properties.

Arshad S, Rehman T, Saif S, et al. Replacement of refined sugar by natural sweeteners: focus on potential health benefits. Heliyon. 2022;8(9):e10711. doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10711
MedlinePlus. Sweeteners.
Olszewski PK, Wood EL, Klockars A, Levine AS. Excessive consumption of sugar: An insatiable drive for reward. Curr Nutr Rep. 2019;8(2):120-128. doi:10.1007/s13668-019-0270-5
American Heart Association. Added sugars.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
Kelly RK, Tong TYN, Watling CZ, et al. Associations between types and sources of dietary carbohydrates and cardiovascular disease risk: a prospective cohort study of UK Biobank participants. BMC Med. 2023;21(1):34. doi:10.1186/s12916-022-02712-7
Mantantzis K, Schlaghecken F, Sünram-Lea SI, Maylor EA. Sugar rush or sugar crash? A meta-analysis of carbohydrate effects on mood. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2019;101:45-67. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.03.016
World Health Organization. Sugar and dental caries.
Jacques A, Chaaya N, Beecher K, Ali SA, Belmer A, Bartlett S. The impact of sugar consumption on stress driven, emotional and addictive behaviors. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2019;103:178-199. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.05.021
Bettani SR, Borges MTMR, Soares MR, Liska GR, Rodrigues CEDC. Relationship between the mineral content of sugarcane and its genuine derivative, non-centrifugal raw cane sugar. Food Res Int. 2024;192:114783.
U.S. Department of Agriculture: FoodData Central. Raw cane sugar.
U.S. Department of Agriculture: FoodData Central. Syrups, corn, high-fructose.
U.S. Department of Agriculture: FoodData Central. Honey.
Samarghandian S, Farkhondeh T, Samini F. Honey and health: A review of recent clinical research. Pharmacognosy Res. 2017;9(2):121-127. doi:10.4103/0974-8490.204647
U.S. Department of Agriculture: FoodData Central. Refined sugar.
Kaim U, Labus K. Monk fruit extract and sustainable health: A PRISMA-guided systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Nutrients. 2025;17(9):1433. doi:10.3390/nu17091433
Peteliuk V, Rybchuk L, Bayliak M, Storey KB, Lushchak O. Natural sweetener Stevia rebaudiana: Functionalities, health benefits and potential risks. EXCLI J. 2021;20:1412-1430. doi:10.17179/excli2021-4211

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