Sweet Alternatives — Healthier Options to White Sugar and Saccharine
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After I wrote my post on the study citing the potential of fake sugars (saccharine) making you gain weight and not help lose or maintain weight, my friends started subtly asking me what other options are there. Maybe they didn’t want to leave a comment owning up to a Sweet & Lo or Diet Coke addiction, so I thought I’d do a follow-up post. Bob gave us the wonderful alternative sweeter, agave, but there are many other tasty options to explore.
Since we did mention agave, check out rawagave.com as a source. The beauty of agave is that it’s a low glycemic natural sweetener, hence it absorbs into the blood stream at a slower rate and there’s none of the dreaded sugar crash. Stevia is also seen as a great alternative to sugar and artificial, chemical sweeteners such as aspartame, but is classified as a dietary supplement with some pros and cons attached. So in order to keep you fully informed, I will do a separate posting on that.
If you’re a traditionalist and still want sugar, then go for raw sugar which hasn’t been processed to death. Raw sugar also has a rich molasses, spicy flavor so it’s great in coffee or in baking. I like Maui Brand; makes me feel like I’m back in Hawaii every time I use it.
Finally you have the honey family. My favorite is wild organic lavender honey. This honey is great drizzled over yogurt, added to salad dressings when you need a bit of sweetener, in marinades or drizzled over cheese. Clearly I can’t say enough about this type of honey. Then there’s raw honey, which is honey nirvana. This honey has never been processed or filtered and still contains the pollen, propolis, honeycomb and live enzymes. This is truly the raw deal as nature intended. And man, is it good. It’s creamy and smooth like the consistency of apple butter. Just eating it directly from the jar is a sweet treat. It is high in B vitamins and a natural source of energy. I’m obsessed with the bee-raw brand.
And remember regarding honey: it is not safe for children under 1 years of age to eat honey or anyone who has a known allergic reaction to bees or pollen.
Happy sampling!
Namaste,
[...] keeping with our model of fully informing our readers as much as we can, when I wrote about sweetener alternatives yesterday, I mentioned that I would circle back and fill you in on Stevia, the herbal based [...]
Not only does agave taste great, but because of its low glycemic index, it is a great alternative for diabetics.
Hey Laura -
Exactly. I referenced that in the post, and hope more folks will notice that highly beneficial attribute of agave.
Hi! Michelle, I have not heard of any cons on stevia. I love that stevia comes in liquid flavors. My favorite is SweetLeaf Stevia Vanilla Crème and Cinnamon. My husband likes his coffee less sweet so he uses fewer drops than I do. I understand that the Stevia glycoside: stevioside is great for oral health. Steviosides inhibits the development of plaque. I’m looking forward to your pros and cons posting. Enjoy your Day!
Thanks for your comments Kendra. Thanks for noting the brand SweetLeaf. Sure readers who are interested in trying Stevia will find that helpful. Check out the blog — I did a post called the Stevia Factor. The cons are not 100% conclusive, but there’s definitely some negative buzz… Let me know your thoughts.
[...] Sweet Alternatives — Healthier Options to White Sugar and Saccharine - Before you pour sugar into your latte this weekend, take a moment to think about these sweet alternatives. [...]
I found another type of honey I’m crazy for: manuka honey from New Zealand manukahoney.com — check it out.