Refined sucrose is commonly known as table sugar, and the average American eats about 61 pounds of it each year. We tend to eat a lot of candy and cake, and when you drink a 20-ounce bottle of cola, you consume the equivalent of about 16 sugar cubes.
Fruits and vegetables are also a source of sucrose in our diet. Sucrose is composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen in a l:2:1 ratio. When consumed, the body breaks sucrose down into individual units of glucose and fructose. The body will use glucose as its main energy source and the excess energy from fructose, if not needed, will be used to synthesize fat tissue.
Most sugar came originally from the sweet sap of sugarcane, a tall grass that grows in warm tropical regions, especially the Caribbean. The cane is crushed to make a sugary liquid that is then boiled and condensed until crystals of white sugar form. The sugarbeet is a plant that grows well in cooler places around the world, and in 2010, more than 20 percent of the world's sugar supply came from this source.
Early Chinese writings from the eighth century B.C. mention sugarcane, and that knowledge of it was derived from India. Evidence seems to indicate that about 500 B.C. residents of present-day India began producing sugar crystals. In the local Indian language, these crystals were called "khanda," which is the source of the word "candy."
Source: www.enterprisepub.com