Alternatives to Table Sugar

Hi folks!   After my first post about sugar, the issue of alternative sweeteners came up, so I wanted to share what I've learned about that today.

Overall, "natural" sweeteners are a good alternative to refined table sugar simply because they retain some, or all, of their nutrients.   Table sugar, on the other hand, is all calories -  no nutrients.  I've listed below, a few of the more popular sweeteners that are on the market today.

Evaporated cane sugar is not as heavily processed as table sugar and therefore retains some of the nutrients of cane sugar (e.g. Vit. B2 - riboflavin). It does affect your blood sugar levels in the same way as table sugar, so use sparingly.

Barley syrup is made from sprouted barley and still retains some of its nutrients. It's a good choice b/c it doesn't cause your blood sugar levels to rise as quickly as table sugar.  As a sweetener, barley malt syrup is about half as sweet as conventional sugar and it has a malty, molasses-like flavor.

Agave nectar is made from the juice of the agave plant.  It was popular for a time among raw foodists (a topic for a later post) because it was marketed as a raw product.  It was recently discovered, however, that agave nectar (or syrup) may not be a raw product, and therefore may not as healthy as once believed.

Blackstrap Molasses is a concentrated byproduct of the refining of sugar cane into table sugar. It's a great source of minerals, but it will affect your blood sugar levels like table sugar.  Look for molasses that is unsulphured (a processing chemical) and use sparingly.

Stevia is a naturally sweet South American herb that has no calories, no carbs and no effect on blood sugar. It tastes 300 times sweeter that table sugar, so a little goes a long way.   You should be aware that there have been several scientific studies about the safety of stevia.  The evidence appears to be inconclusive, but as a safety precaution, I, myself, do not use stevia.  Also, I don't like the taste.

Then there's my favorite choice, RAW HONEY. It's loaded with enzymes, nutrients, anti-bacterial/antioxidant properties and it aids digestion. I use it as a substitute for table sugar whenever I can, but I do use it sparingly.   Raw honey looks completely different from the clear, golden, processed honey that you see on your supermarket shelf.  The processed honey has been heated and filtered so that virtually none of the great health benefits remain.  Raw honey is thick and cloudy, and often still has bits of honey comb inside.  Also, in order to preserve the health benefits of raw honey, the honey must not be heated above 118 degrees.
 Please note, that it is NOT safe to feed raw honey to infants due to the risk of infant botulism.   

Finally, raw honey is also known to have wound healing qualities. Honey has been used topically as an antiseptic therapeutic agent for the treatment of ulcers, burns and wounds for centuries.

Well, that's it  ...... hope this helps.

Remember:  it's about progress, not perfection.