According to Toronto-based registered dietitian Abby Langer (via HuffPost), it doesn’t really matter how the added sugars are labeled on a peanut butter jar. It’s all sugar. What you may typically find in the form of added sugars includes things like refined sugar and syrups. “White sugar is the most refined, while palm sugar and cane juice are less refined and are lower in the glycemic index.”
Sucrose (the main component in white and brown table sugar) can raise blood glucose levels. Cane and palm sugar contain some amount of sucrose, fructose, and glucose. Fructose occurs naturally in fruits and vegetables. Glucose is also naturally present in plants, and it’s your body’s favored source of energy. Even if palm sugar and cane juice are lower on the glycemic index (meaning they’re less likely to cause blood sugar spikes), other factors (e.g., a person’s activity levels, age, rate of digestion, and existing health conditions) matter.
Furthermore, have you ever noticed how there’s a difference between organic and mass-produced peanut butters? Oil separation tends to happen at the top of the former (because commercially bought peanut butters have hydrogenated oil to prevent oil separation). Other additions include salt and preservatives. Per registered dietitian nutritionist Barbara Intermill (via the Atlanta Journal Constitution), though hydrogenated oils are not as bad as partially hydrogenated oils (which are known to produce trans fats that are bad for your cholesterol levels), they still add saturated fat to your peanut butter, which can increase the risk of heart disease or stroke.
