Posts Tagged ‘sugar substitute’
What Are Natural Sugar Alternatives?
With growing concerns over diabetes and obesity, lots of people are looking for sugar alternatives as a way to balance their diet and live a healthier lifestyle. Everyone loves the sweet taste of sugar, but the processed white sugar that is in so much of what we eat is bad for you and leads to many serious health risks. While refined sugar is bad for you, there are plenty of sugar alternatives.
Natural sugars are one good choice when compared with refined sugar. Natural sugars are easier to digest, and provide much needed energy. The downside is that your body will store the fat if you consume too much. Even though we are trying to avoid storing fat, in small doses natural sugar provides a good option.
There are other sugar alternatives available as well, and some of them are better for you than others. First there are the artificial sweeteners like saccharine. This can be found in the Sweet and Low packets on the table in just about every restaurant in the country. This artificial sugar alternative is very sweet so you use a lot less to get the same level of sweetness than you would need with real sugar.
Sugar alternatives do have a downside; they might not be healthy for you. Many people believe that these sugar alternatives cause cancer, although this hasn’t been scientifically proven. The biggest factor is they create an urge for more sugar. This does not make you eat healthier and avoid other sugars. Since these alternatives actually trick your body that it is consuming sugar, the empty calories still get stored as fat.
Another downside to artificial sweeteners is they are not good to use for cooking. They may work to sweeten coffee or tea, but when baked they get a chemical taste. This explains why most houses have a bag of refined white sugar in the kitchen, even if they use artificial sweeteners.
There are natural sugar alternatives you can adapt for baking and other sweetening needs. Honey, one of the oldest natural forms of sweetening, can be used for most needs. It is all natural, and good for you when used (like all other sweeteners) in moderation. When used during baking, it will thicken batters.
Honey is also great in tea or coffee and you can even get dried honey crystals that are even easier to use. These are convenient for beverages or for sprinkling on cereal. Other natural sugar alternatives include agave, which is a thick liquid derived from a plant. It is thick, but not as thick as honey. It is sweet but not overpowering and it has a wonderful flavor.
Another great choice is Agave. Also derived from a plant, it is a concentrated liquid sweetener. It usually comes in smaller bottles because it is sweet enough you only need a few drops to replace spoonfuls of sugar!
When shopping for natural sugar alternatives, do your research to find the right one. Using a natural sugar substitute can be a good tool when combined with exercise to help maintain a healthier lifestyle.
To see recipes made using a natural sugar known as organic honey crystals then visit the Mama Healthy website to get one of the latest natural sugar alternatives in the market today.