There are many sugar alternatives that you can use when you want to sweeten up a meal or treat but don’t want the impact that refined sugar has on your body.
Some of these sweeteners are similar to sugar but have antioxidants and minerals that boost their nutrition but will still spike blood sugar and insulin.
Others like artificial sweeteners have little to no calories and don’t spike blood sugar. They do trick your body with their sweet taste without providing the sugar often causing cravings. There are also sugar alcohols with little to no calories that may cause digestive issues.
Overview of Some Available Sugar Alternatives
I hope this information opens your eyes to the variety of options out there to help you to decrease your use of conventional beet sugar and cane sugar.
Natural Sweeteners
Natural sweeteners include things like maple syrup, coconut sugar, dates, and honey. These sweeteners have the benefits of having antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins. They still have the calories of sugar and contain fructose that must be processed in the liver.
Novel Sweeteners
Novel sweeteners like monk fruit and stevia are plant extracts that are many times sweeter than sugar. They are little to no calories but can have an aftertaste that many find unpleasant. Many people use these sweeteners on keto diets.
Artificial Sweeteners
Artificial sweeteners like Splenda and Sweet n Low are chemicals with zero calories made to replace sugar. One main problem with zero-calorie sweeteners is that they trick the body into thinking sweet is coming and activate the digestive system in that way with insulin ready to transport the glucose.
The problem is if there is no glucose then the body asks, “where’s the sugar I was expecting?.” This may cause hunger or cravings because the body was expecting something sweet.
To decrease those cravings, I tend to use artificial sweeteners in my coffee when I am also having something sweet so my body gets the sugar and doesn’t ask for it. Due to bio-individually that may not work for you the same as it does for me.
Sugar Alcohols
Sugar alcohols like erythritol, sorbitol, and xylitol are less sweet than sugar and don’t cause as large an insulin spike. The problem with them is that in higher doses they can cause diarrhea and bloat. Some people have no trouble with sugar alcohols and others have instant digestion concerns.
For example, I have minor belly pain and discomfort from two squares of chocolate with erythritol in it. It also depends on the amount in each square. For a different company, I get pain with 1 square of chocolate. Again bio-individuality comes to play with this sweetener.
Other Sweeteners
There are some other sweeteners you may not have heard of like brown rice syrup, Yacon syrup, and Lucuma.
Yacon syrup comes from a root and breaks down when heated so it should not be used in baking.
Lucuma is a fruit from Peru that hasn’t had many studies done on it. It is suggested to use it sparingly until further studies are done.
Brown rice syrup is from boiled brown rice and is gooey like honey with a butterscotch flavor. It has the same calories as sugar so similar to natural sweeteners use it sparingly.
Use Alternatives
We have some good alternatives to conventional sugar. Overall the best thing for you to do is determine what your body is ok using. Again it is great to experiment with these alternatives and find what works best for your body and tastebuds.
You may decide that organic cane sugar is best for your body and that you will have 6 teaspoons or less a day.
Your body may be able to handle sugar alcohols or maybe your ancestors were in South America and Yacon syrup and Lucuma work well for you.
Understand that there are many options to sweeten food if you want to use a sweetener and decrease your use of conventional sugar.
Join the Lose Sugar for 10 Days Experiment. This 10 Day Sugar Detox will use some of these sweeteners in recipes so you can try out alternatives to conventional sugar.
