What’s Your Choicest Natural Sweetener?

Sugar Substitutes, However Natural They Might Be, Should Be consumed in Limitation

​Are you one of those having a sweet tooth or craving for sugary indulgences? Even otherwise, it is a mammoth task to cut down sugar intake from your everyday meal plan. Rome was not built in a day, likewise, completely excluding sugar and sugar-based foods from your diet starting tomorrow is an impractical dream. The very first recommendation given when anyone wishes to cut down on dietary sugar intake is to choose sugar substitutes and artificial sweeteners. But, how familiar are we with these substitutes and their impact on our overall health?
 
In fact, replacing sugar with popular sweeteners available in the market has become an unwritten rule for those with diabetes or in pre-diabetes stage. It’s high time we accept the fact that any form of sugar is harmful to health, when consumed in high quantities. But, substituting sucrose with artificial and natural sweeteners is promoted these days as they are low in calories and don’t increase glycemic levels. Artificial sweeteners has been discussed as a standalone topic in the blog section and now, we would be focusing on the natural sugar substitutes available in the market.
 
The Best Natural Sugar Substitutes
 
Fruits: Fruits are one of the healthiest sources of natural sugar. They have no empty calories and the icing on the cake is that fruits come enriched with nutrients including fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants. Add some fresh pieces of berries, bananas, or avocados to your smoothies, top the unsweetened yogurt with your choicest exotic fruits, and sweeten the cereal with some blueberries, apples, or strawberries. In fact, you could enhance the flavor of the dish by adding vanilla extract, almond powder, cocoa powder, or even cinnamons. Once you regularly start substituting sugar/sweeteners with fruits, not only the real taste of the product is revealed but the sugar cravings start to sober down gradually.
 
Honey: Though we constantly read about substituting sugar with honey for the shakes, cereals, and more, the brutal truth is that honey is another form of sugar that is high in calories. On the brighter side, honey is equipped with antioxidants, oligosaccharides, and nutrients such as zinc, calcium, potassium, and vitamins. The bee variety and the plant components that contribute to honey production have weightage on the anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits provided by this golden liquid. Still, honey has a lower GI value than sugar but should not be consumed beyond 1-2 teaspoons a day.
 
Maple Syrup: The sponge cake soaked in maple syrup or the granola bar coated with maple syrup seem to tickle your taste buds and comfort the mind as maple syrup is yet another natural sweetener. Though this liquid has a lower GI than sugar, it does have higher quantities of sugar comparatively. Some of the commercially sold maple syrup brands are overloaded with high-fructose corn syrup that could lead to accumulation of belly fat, increased triglyceride levels, and belly fat. Containing nutrients such as zinc, potassium, manganese, calcium, and iron, this liquid also has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. Though better than sugar, maple syrup does contain sucrose and should be used sparingly in your waffles, pancakes, and breakfast options.
 
Dates: Though dates are calorie-rich and contain sugar content, the good news is that including dates doesn’t affect blood sugar levels in the same way as table sugar—even a study including 100 participants showed that eating dates reduced bad cholesterol levels in the body without bringing any changes to HbA1c levels. The thick, sweet dried fruit of the palm trees come equipped with nutrients such as potassium, fiber, magnesium, manganese, carotenoids, vitamin B6, and antioxidant, thereby making them a good substitute for sugar in making energy bars, smoothies, and cookies. Make a paste of dates and use it sparingly as this is sweeter than sugar.
 
Monk fruit extract: Extracted from a fruit called the monk fruit which is a native of SouthEast Asia, this fruit is now being used to make natural sweeteners that are 300 times sweeter than normal sugar. The extract not only has zero calories but also doesn’t affect blood sugar levels—all these make it a preferred choice as a sugar substitute among weight watchers and those with diabetes. But be aware that there are no human studies that confirm the safety of this sweetener. Also, commercially sold monk fruit extracts always come in combination with other sweeteners. Hence, it is advised that you check the ingredient list before picking this natural sweetener from the grocery shelf
 
Agave nectar: Though popularly suggested as a natural sugar substitute, it is advisable to stay away from agave nectar as this sweetener is calorie-rich and has high fructose levels (even higher than corn syrup) increasing the risk of weight gain and obesity. Also, having better nutrients than normal sugar, still the nutritional content is lesser than honey. Tasting similar to honey, not leaving you with a bitter aftertaste, and having a long shelf life, we can use agave nectar for any sort of cooking purpose, but execute caution while adding this sweetener as it is flavor-rich and adding a small quantity brings about the desired taste to the dish.
 
The Bottomline
 
No sugar substitute, natural or artificial, is good for health, especially when consumed in excess. Instead of hunting for the so-called healthy and sugar-free sugar substitute find creative ways to reduce sugar intake and replace them with healthier fructose from fruits. It’s no sin to indulge in a small piece of sponge cake or the delicious mithai occasionally but never form a habit of consuming desserts and sweets regularly just because the ingredient list contains artificial or natural sweeteners.  Even in daily food preparations, enhance the flavor of foods using spices and add variety to the meal plan to keep it healthy and interesting. Get in touch with a reputed dietitian/nutritionist to make small tweaks to your everyday recipes to add nutrition and good health to diet plans without disturbing sugar levels.