Table sugar

Sugar is a sweet ingredient added to foods such as cookies, cakes, and pastries. It comes from beets or sugarcane and is generally grown in tropical environments.

Sugar is sweet because it contains sucrose (C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁), which is a solid white disaccharide that alters the flavor of foods. Sucrose is a carbohydrate. Sucrose is broken down in the body into glucose and fructose. When digested, sugar provides approximately 110 calories per ounce (4 calories per gram).

Many processed food products such as Twinkies, children's breakfast cereals, and candy bars contain large amounts of sugar. When consumed in large quantities, sugar is unhealthy, may lead to tooth decay, obesity, or diabetes.

Until the 1990s, it was generally believed that consuming sugary foods caused hyperactivity in children. This notion was never tested scientifically until a study was done.^{[Citation Needed]} The study found that sugar consupmtion was associated with hyperactivicy but was not the cause. For example, kids get excited and jump around a lot at birthday parties, where they also eat cake and ice cream. But it's actually the party atmosphere that prompts the extra activity.

Sugar plays an important role in the commerce of many countries, including Jamaica, Guatemala, and Bolivia.