Comments on: Refined Sugar Alternatives

By: KP

KP — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 20:16:12 +0000

Augstina – you can look up in the glycemic index what the levels are for different sweeteners and how they effect blood sugar.

http://www.glycemicindex.com/

By: Augustina

Augustina — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 19:51:59 +0000

Part of what attracted me to Simply Sugar and Gluten Free is the use of Coconut Palm Sugar. Right now my interest is in minimizing all unrefined carbs and sweeteners that negatively impact the metabolism. I’m not as interested in avoiding gluten because I don’t have any issues with it.

According to Dr Hyman, author of Ultrametabolism, Stevia and other artificial sweeteners, even though all natural, are just as impactful to the metabolism.

I’ll argue however, it’s all about what works for one’s self and if a person is able to maintain their weight and manage sugar cravings on something then it’s probably fine. I’ve taken a stance of health benefit to metabolic impact ratio when determining my usage of an ingredient.

These are the sweeteners I use:

Raw honey is ok because of the health benefits, but only in very small quantities.

Coconut Palm Sugar is an unrefined sweetener that has a medium GI rating.

Malt Barley Syrup is not gluten free, however it is an unrefined sugar and I use it in place of molasses or other syrups.

I DO NOT use agave syrup because it’s potentially just as detrimental as HFCS.

Ultimately the secret to any sugar consumption is combination with a high amount of fiber. So when I use raw honey, I may also make sure I’m using chia seeds or a minimally processed whole grain flour to slow down the body’s absorption of the sugar.

By: kp

kp — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 19:46:32 +0000

Oh ok. The author of this blog does talk about the healthy alternatives above. This isn’t my blog but if it’s ok, I’ll throw out my two cents! A year ago, a friend (gluten/sugar free diet) introduced me to xylitol. It’s a plant derived, natural sweetener. I personally love it and use it for my sweetening needs. It doesn’t have a different taste to it (like some say about stevia). You can google it to find out more. Here’s one link I pulled up:
http://hubpages.com/hub/Xylitol-vs-Stevia-The-Pros-and-Cons
It’s great because it’s a one-to-one replacement for sugar. All other alternatives (that are natural) have a strong flavor to me. Really you just have to try the options out and see how your body responds and weight that with your taste buds. Give xylitol a try though! It’s pricey but sugar alternatives basically are. Also, if you like it, Nature’s Sunshine sells chocolate bars that are made with xylitol which is awesome for chopping up and throwing in baked goods. There’s a new debate out there that Dr. Mercola wrote about that says agave is actually just as bad as corn syrup. Here’s the link to that article:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/03/30/beware-of-the-agave-nectar-health-food.aspx
Hope this helps!

By: Lorib

Lorib — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 13:50:03 +0000

@kp, Sorry for the confusion but I am looking for sweetener alternatives just not sugar or splenda or things like that. Natural substitutes just not sugar;.

By: kp

kp — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 20:18:18 +0000

Lori, You’re looking for options that don’t sweeten baked goods whatsoever? Meaning no fruit sweetener, sugar, or even natural substitutes?