I Didn’t Know That

Q: Are foods sweetened with fruit juice any healthier than those sweetened with regular sugar?

A: No, according to Dr. George L. Blackburn of the Harvard Medical School. “A sugar calorie is a sugar calorie, whether the sugar comes from sugar cane, sugar beets or fruit,” he says. The sugar in table sugar is sucrose, while that in fruit is fructose, but both have 16 calories per teaspoon. The main differences between the two are taste and behavior during cooking. Fructose may be better for diabetics, however, because slight differences in the way it is processed by the body lead to better blood-sugar control.