Cane sugar

Studies in people

• Concern

  Liver fat production²

  In healthy men, drinks with fructose or sucrose increased the liver's fat-making more than glucose drinks did.

• Concern

  Heart and blood health⁴

  In overweight people, sucrose in drinks raised homocysteine and total cholesterol.

• Concern

  Body weight changes⁵

  In adults with overweight, drinking sucrose-sweetened drinks daily for 12 weeks led to weight gain.

• Concern

  Pregnancy blood pressure risk⁶

  In pregnant women, high sucrose intake was linked to a higher risk of preeclampsia.

Animal and lab studies only

• Concern

  Body fat and liver¹¹

  In mice, drinking sucrose water raised body fat, especially in males, without changing insulin response.

• Concern

  Hunger brain signals¹²

  In animal studies, a high-sucrose diet blunted the silencing of hunger-promoting brain cells after glucose.

Study type not stated

• Concern

  Tooth decay¹⁰

  Eating cane sugar often, and in large amounts, is linked to tooth decay, especially in children's new teeth.

How it’s made and used

• Sweetener taste comparison³

  In taste tests, people rated a tamarind drink with sucralose about the same as one with cane sugar.

• Fuel use during exercise⁷

  In people cycling, lactose and sucrose were used as fuel at similar rates.

• Sweet drink liking⁸

  In people, drinks paired with cane sugar, erythritol or sucralose were liked about the same.

• Biscuit texture and structure⁹

  In biscuits, cane sugar does more than sweeten -- it also shapes how the dough sets and how the baked biscuit feels.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.