Natural Sweeteners – Which Ones Are Good for You?

I recently had a discussion with a friend about agave syrup/nectar versus other natural sweeteners. Agave use by diabetics and others trying to follow a low glycemic diet is increasing. The L.A. Times recently published an article stating why agave may not necessarily be low glycemic: http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-nutrition30-2009mar30,0,4068006.story.

I do not use agave syrup because it pushes the line of my personal processed food standard. Depending on the producer, it can be highly processed and have additives. I have not done the research to find an agave producer whose product I would consider using because it is not worth my time. Agave is costly and I have a preferred list of sweeteners that I trust.

One other popular sweetener that I do not use is stevia. I do not like the taste. With Cargill and Coca Cola producing and using it, a red flag goes up for me. I am sticking to what I know.

Here is the list of sweeteners that I do use. If you are diabetic, take all of the processed food out of your diet, heal your gut (see below), and these sweeteners will most likely be good for you, too.

Honey – Raw, Unheated and Unfiltered

Yum! My family uses about a quart a week in smoothies, tea, raw pies and for baking. Honey’s benefits are amazing: easy to digest, high in vitamins, minerals and enzymes, antiseptic, antibiotic. When used for cooking many of these properties are lost, but it tastes great!

We became big honey users because it helped us to rid yeast and heal our guts, leading to Ryan’s freedom from ADD and Colson’s and my conquering seasonal allergies. The unhealthy yeast in the human gut eats other sweeteners, but not honey. If you do not feed the yeast, it dies and frees you from many ailments and all food cravings! We followed Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride’s Gut and Psychology Syndrome diet, which recommends only honey as a sweetener, with unimaginable success.

Maple Syrup

Now that my family has experienced significant healing we are allowing small amounts of real maple syrup back (Grade B, less processed) into our diet. So far the only use is as a sweetener to make ice cream (using raw milk). Maple syrup has a higher concentration of minerals than honey. Read more about the benefits of real maple syrup here: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=115

Rapadura (Dehydrated Sugar Cane Juice)

This sugar is the least processed of all cane sugars. It actually has health benefits due to the minerals that remain because of the minimal processing it undergoes. Eating too much of it will offset those health benefits. I have not reintroduced this sugar into our diet, but when I was using it I found it difficult to use for baking. Now that I am a more experienced nutrient dense cook, I am sure that I will find new uses when I reintroduce it. You can find Rapadura online or at a health food store.

Comments

[Maria Droujkova]

I make my sweetener decision based only on monosaccharides (yes to those, namely glucose and fructose) vs. polysaccharides (no to those). I do not consider sweeteners as mineral sources, because the amounts are too tiny compared to other sources in our diet, like meat.

Whole Foods sells fructose, which looks just like table sugar - we just got a package to experiment with it. My biggest issue with honey is its lower burn point, compared to sugar, which messes up cooking. Most recipes can be adjusted, but have you tried, say, making purely honey-based caramel?

Agave syrup, like dates, is dicey - chances are the batch you get will have too much sucrose. "Up to 90% fructose" - um, no.

[Holli]

What do you think of molasses? I thought is was a possible source of iron?

[Laura Combs]

I think that molasses is fine, but it is a polysaccharide, so we are not using it now. My son's allergies have come back a little, so we are back on GAPS. I will blog on that shortly.