For those with Alpha-Gal Syndrome, even something as simple as sugar isn’t always safe. While sugar itself comes from plants like sugar cane and sugar beets, some brands use animal-derived bone char during processing to whiten and refine the crystals. This filtering method can make certain sugars unsafe for people avoiding mammal-derived ingredients. In this post, I will break down some sugar brands that are Alpha-Gal safe, explain how sugar is processed, and help you confidently choose safe options for everyday cooking and baking.
What’s safe?
I’m so glad you asked! Do you have options? Yes, there are many, many options. I’m only going to share the ones that I have personal experience with and that I know are safe. However, there are a ton of unprocessed, organic, pure sugars that would be safe.
This Wholesome brand sugar can be found in a 6 lb bag at Sam’s Club.
- Certified Organic
- Non-GMO
- Vegan
- OU Kosher
- Gluten Free
- Fair Trade Certified
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sugar in the Raw brand turbinado cane sugar can be found in most grocery stores – Publix, Kroger, Walmart – in addition to Sam’s Club.
- Kosher
- Gluten Free
- Non-GMO
- Vegan
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Florida Crystals is also a pretty well known brand that can be found in most grocery stores. This is the one I buy to take on vacation because they sell a small, shaker version.
- Kosher
- Gluten Free
- Regenerative Organic
- Vegan
- Non-GMO
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What’s Not And Why?
Really it doesn’t matter what brand – generally speaking, if you find white granulated sugar, it has been bleached. Which means it has gone through a process where they bleach it by running it through bone char (animal bones). This exposes it to animal product causing it to be unsafe for those with Alpha-Gal. So buying pure unbleached cane sugar is the way to go.
For a more detailed understanding of what this bone char process looks like visit the link below:
Bone Char Processing
