BROWN SUGAR VS. CINNAMON: WHICH IS THE HEALTHIER SWEETENER?
Medically reviewed by Sohaib Imtiaz, MD
Key Takeaways
- Brown sugar and cinnamon both contain calories and nutrients.
- There is some research suggesting that cinnamon or brown sugar may help certain health conditions, but the evidence is scarce, and these claims have not been verified.
- It’s important to check the nutritional label of brown sugar or cinnamon products, because they are often combined with other flavorings or sweeteners.
Cinnamon and brown sugar are both popular in desserts, and they affect your health differently. Some research suggests that cinnamon or brown sugar may be beneficial for certain health conditions, but there are no approved or proven medical uses for either brown sugar or cinnamon.
Where Do Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Come From?
Brown sugar and cinnamon can add flavor, color, scent, and texture to foods and drinks. They are often added to beverages, desserts, and soups, as well as to recipes for other dishes. Their sources are:
- Ground cinnamon comes from Cinnamomum trees.
- Brown sugar is created by combining table sugar with molasses. Molasses comes from sugar cane or sugar beets. All sugar, including brown sugar, is broken down into glucose, which the body uses for energy.
What Are Their Calories and Nutrients?
Sugar and cinnamon both have calories and nutrients. Your body converts calories to energy. But consuming more calories than your body needs leads to weight gain.
Calorie and nutrient comparison between sucrose and cinnamon:
| Calories and nutrients in 100 grams (g) of brown sugar or 100 g cinnamon | ||
|---|---|---|
| Brown sugar | Cinnamon | |
| Calories | 380 | 247 |
| Calcium milligrams (mg) | 83 | 1,000 |
| Iron (mg) | 0.71 | 8.32 |
| Magnesium (mg) | 9 | 60 |
| Phosphorus (mg) | 4 | 64 |
| Potassium (mg) | 133 | 431 |
| Sodium (mg) | 28 | 10 |
| Vitamin C (mg) | 0 | 3.8 |
| Zinc (mg) | 0.03 | 1.83 |
Keep in mind that many cinnamon or brown sugar products are more than just pure cinnamon or brown sugar—they may also contain other ingredients. So, the calories and nutrients of spice mixes vary. If the calories and nutritional content are important to you, be sure to read the label.
How Much Energy Does Each Provide?
Brown sugar provides more energy than cinnamon, which also means that excess brown sugar is more likely to cause weight gain than excess cinnamon:
- The calories in brown sugar are due to carbohydrates that convert to glucose, which your body uses either for energy or to store as fat.
- The calories in cinnamon include some glucose, but also include some indigestible fiber, which doesn’t provide as much energy or lead to as much weight gain.
How Can They Affect Diabetes?
Diabetes is a medical condition that affects glucose balance. Managing diabetes involves carefully monitoring your carbohydrate intake, taking medication, or using insulin.
Substituting brown sugar for white sugar does not provide any health benefits if you have diabetes.
Many studies have examined the effects of replacing sugar with cinnamon in people with diabetes:
- While results are inconsistent, cinnamon may help improve fasting blood glucose levels in people with prediabetes.
- Cinnamon does not appear to affect glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), a blood test that measures how well diabetes is controlled over the previous couple of months. Additionally, cinnamon does not appear to affect cholesterol levels.
- A scholarly review examined the effects of cinnamon on blood sugar levels in people without diabetes or prediabetes. The results were similar to those for people with diabetes—cinnamon improved fasting blood glucose but did not affect glycosylated hemoglobin.
If you have diabetes, dietary management is important, and it’s still not clear whether cinnamon could have any impact, even in the short term.
Health Effects of Brown Sugar and Cinnamon
There is some ongoing research about potential health benefits of brown sugar and cinnamon. Each of these sweeteners has shown some promising results in experimental settings, but the research hasn’t been replicated or translated into practical use:
- Antibacterial effects: Some research suggests that cinnamon may have antibacterial effects.
- Anti-inflammatory: Cinnamon might have some anti-inflammatory properties, which could potentially be beneficial for helping to manage immune disorders.
- Gut flora: Brown sugar may affect gut flora (the microbes in your digestive tract), an important aspect of digestion and immunity.
- Cancer: There’s a possible association between the consumption of brown sugar and a lower rate of cancer.
- Antioxidant: Brown sugar might have antioxidant activity. Antioxidants protect against chronic diseases.
Risk of Metal Contamination: Cinnamon
There have been recent reports of lead contamination of certain cinnamon products. This is believed to be associated with the production process, and several products have been recalled. Overall, lead contamination is not an inherent problem with cinnamon products.
Read the original article on Verywell Health
2025-11-26T13:48:02Z
