sugar: Quick Facts

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Last updated

Nov. 8, 2026

News •

Eating sugary foods more than twice a week was linked to 28% higher breast cancer risk • Nov. 2, 2026, 9:33 PM ET (News-Medical)

Scientists link a strange sugar in red meat to a 63% higher diabetes risk • Oct. 18, 2026, 9:10 AM ET (Science Daily)

Prices of sugar, rice and other essential commodities surge ahead of festive season • Oct. 17, 2026, 3:29 AM ET (The Hindu)

Photos and Videos

Tall, dense stalks of sugarcane grow on both sides of a narrow path, with green leaves arching overhead and sunlight illuminating the plants.

Labeled illustration comparing the structure of a sugarcane stalk on the left, showing buds and internodes, with a sugar beet on the right, highlighting leaves, crown, hypocotyl, and taproot.

blackstrap molasses

Field of tall green sugarcane plants growing in Guadeloupe, with a palm tree on the left and a bright blue sky with scattered clouds above.

Diagram of a tree leaf illustrating photosynthesis, with arrows showing sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide entering the leaf and sugars and oxygen being produced. A person is shown beside the tree to demonstrate the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between plants and animals.

Astronaut holding a rainbow lollipop against a starfield, with arrows toward text reading: Sugar in Space?

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Topics

raw sugar cane sugar beet sugar brown sugar powdered sugar mother liquor white sugar open pan sugar invert sugar How is sugar made?monk fruit stevia (sweetener)honey sucrose maltose Lactose

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Key People

Norman Haworth, c. 1920.

Sir Norman Haworth

British chemist

Euler-Chelpin

Hans von Euler-Chelpin

Swedish biochemist

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