The only unrefined sugar available to the average consumer seems to be Sucanat ™, an evaporated sugar cane syrup. Raw beet sugar is reputed to be unsavory. It may be possible in some markets to get other raw sugars. In Hawaii, pineapple sugar may sometimes be found.

Raw honey is honey that has not been over-heated or over-strained. Excess heating, such as used to produce liquid honey, destroys the natural enzymes that the bees have added, including the substance producing hydrogen peroxide that gives honey part of its antibacterial activity. The usage of honey as a medicine is referred to in the most ancient written records. Honey was prescribed by the physicians of many ancient races of people for a wide variety of ailments.

Raw food is food which has never been heated nor treated with chemicals so it retains the enzymes and nutrients of its natural state. As soon as a food is cooked or has added chemicals, the vitamins, nutrients, enzymes, and other healthy compounds start to change or become destroyed and the food no longer has the life and health-giving properties it should.

Items such as muesli, pasta, sugar and cocoa intended for pupils to take home rather than consume in school do not fall under the standards and can continue to be sold as before. Young Co-operatives is a not-for-profit organisation that offers young people (usually aged 13-17) a practical introduction to fair trade and co-operative ways of working.

Maple sugar is also made from the sap of sugar maple trees. It's about twice as sweet as granulated white sugar.

This is simply sucrose (table sugar) that has been subjected to hydrolysis which breaks down the disaccharide sucrose into its constituent sugars. The fructose is inverted (made into its optical isomer). The inversion process involves adding acid and is usually done at high temperatures to speed up the process. Alternately, the invertase enzyme can be used.

This is crystalizable sugar from the first step of refinement. It has a tan to brown color from the residual impurities. Some food faddists attribute beneficial results from using this, but unless a lot is consumed, the potential benefits are very low. Demerara is also called "turbinado" and "raw sugar". Demerara is the United Kingdom term, turbinado the American term. Demerara is usually a dark brown shade, while turbinado is lighter, more of a tan or taupe color.

In the US, this is just refined sugar with some molasses added back in. The US food law says that only refined sugar (no raw components) can be sold with this name. This law may actually have more to do with enforcing a similar taste for both sugar beets and sugar cane, since the beets, when unrefined, have a poorer taste than cane sugar. Another type of brown sugar is called "Piloncillo," a Mexican brown sugar which is semi-refined granulated sugar.

Rock sugar is not as sweet as regular granulated sugar. It comes in the form of amber-colored crystals, which are the result of sugar cooked until it begins to color. It's used to sweeten certain Chinese teas and meat glazes.

If by "sugar" we mean white table sugar, the answer is definitely NO. Table sugar is sucrose, a substance made up of two molecules attached together. When we eat table sugar, our stomach has to use its own enzymes to separate the molecules apart before we can use the sugar's energy. Honey is quite different. The bees have added a special enzyme to the nectar that separates the sucrose into glucose and fructose, two simple sugars that our bodies can absorb directly.

Sugar is also part of a balanced diet when eaten in small quantities. Refined sugars have the fewest nutrients, but other sugars such as fructose are contained in nutritionally beneficial foods. Chinese medicine sometimes prescribes sugar as a tonic.

Typically every 3-6 weeks. Sugaring allows us to remove hairs as short as 1/16 of an inch, although it is recommended that the hair be between 1/8-1/4 inch for best results.

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