Sugar, Sugar, Oh How I Love Thee
So, some people have salt cravings or sour cravings, or fat cravings… My craving of choice is sweet. And because of that craving, I have delved into the world of “which sweetener is better?”. And I’m passing on what I’ve learned.
Agave Nectar & Insulin
First off, I want to dispel any claims surrounding agave syrup. Agave syrup is extremely high in fructose, which means it doesn’t spike your insulin, it causes insulin resistance, so your insulin levels stay elevated. Sure, agave syrup is a low glycemic food, which means it doesn’t raise your insulin levels very much, but it does keep them elevated- this is actually worse! It’s normal for your insulin to go up when you eat sweets, but the harm is when it doesn’t go down. Then you have extra insulin floating around in your body doing more harm than good.
This extra insulin in your body, appearing because of Insulin resistance, is directly linked to diabetes, obesity, and yes, the big one- cancer.
Agave syrup is actually produced much like how high fructose corn syrup is made from corn starch. The agave plant is natural, just like the corn plant (non GMO) is natural… But high fructose corn syrup, like agave syrup, is NOT natural. It has been processed and refined, and I’m not exactly sure how the bottles in the store can say “raw” agave syrup on them. It’s like saying “evaporated cane juice” is unrefined sugar.. which it is not. It is definitely refined (heated at high temps and stripped of it’s nutritional benefits), and just the same as table sugar.
The Better Sweeteners
Sweeteners have sugar, any way you cut it, and they clearly should be eaten modestly. Stevia, containing no sugar but still “sweet”, can only do so much for me- I might dash a little in tea or occasionally on my oatmeal, but to my tongue, nothing quite replaces sugar. So, my sugars of choice are:
Grade B Maple Syrup – Grade B is important because it’s not as processed as grade A, so it contains more minerals and vitamins. When used in baking, the maple flavor tends to go away. I’ve substituted maple syrup for corn syrup in pecan pie, and let me tell you, no one at Thanksgiving was complaining. It was divine!
Honey – Honey is perfect for sweetening tea or maybe a savory recipe that calls for sugar, but it tends to be a little less sweet than maple syrup, so it’s not my go to sugar for baking. Get some local honey, and you’ll also help your allergies a wee bit.
Sucanat (unrefined sugar) – It looks like dirt, but man is it tastier than table sugar! Sucanat hasn’t been refined (or bleached, might I add) like white sugar has. It retains some of the great minerals because it is essentially pure, dried, sugar cane juice (and the molasses hasn’t been stripped away).
There are other good sweeteners out there, like date sugar and mesquite powder, but the 3 I mentioned are the easiest to find and easiest to substitute with.
The “Good Sugar” Posers
– Sugar in the Raw is quite frankly not raw. While it hasn’t been bleached at least, it has still been processed at high temps and stripped of some of the natural molasses content. It’s an unrefined sugar POSER.
– Turbinado and raw cane juice are the same…
– Aunt Jemima looks like maple syrup, but it’s all corn syrup (including the high fructose kind). Similar pancake syrups are just the same (unless it says “Maple Syrup”).
Hope that gave you some insight into which sweetener is best to use!
photo by alsjhc
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