Health and Nutrition. Crystalline sucrose sugar is a carbohydrate, and moderate sugar intake can be part of a healthy diet. Sugar not only sweetens food and beverages, but also provides users with an instant jolt of energy. Humans should derive 50 to 55 percent of their daily energy consumption from carbohydrates. Brazilian Sugar. The Portuguese first planted sugarcane in Brazil during the 1530s. Since then, sugar has been an integral part of Brazilâs social, political and economic history.