Sugar Alternatives (aka The Lesser of Two Evils)

The topic of sugar is a huge one. There are endless explanations in the media and health industry of why we crave sugar. Hormone imbalance, adrenal depletion, food allergies, imbalance of good and bad bacteria in the gut, comfort, and many more. All of these hold some place in the explanation of why sugar can seem to rule many of our lives. For those who truly crave it, it would definitely be worth investigating where the source of the craving is coming from. The best place to do that is with your trusted holistic health care provider, someone who can help you find a better balance. No matter what the source of our cravings however, there are some good general guidelines about what to avoid and which sugars have less serious health consequences.

If you have blood sugar problems, food allergies or sensitivities, or other chronic immune function issues, then the following rules won't apply. There are more specific ways to work with (or rather without) sugar for chronic issues, that would be important to explore.

However, if you are like many people and have sugar at times, currently don't have chronic illnesses effected by sugar, and would like to do your best to keep it that way, then please read on. The following guidelines give some alternatives that can be used for cooking, baking, and for sweet snacks. But please keep in mind, sugar is not healthy, no matter which way you look at it. I prefer to think of sugar like I think of voting for president - I always pick the lesser of two evils.

And with that said here are my sugar do's and don'ts:

First the Don'ts:

1. First and foremost, get rid of that white sugar from the house (this actually includes brown sugar too). Just throw it out. It's simply not good for you, and is just doing lots of harm. White sugar has absolutely no nutritional value, causes huge spikes in blood glucose levels, & can cause nutritional deficiencies. If those aren't enough reasons for you, refined sugars are linked to diabetes, dental problems, digestive disorders, Attention Deficit Disorder, and even cancer.

There are so many great tasting alternatives to cook and bake with in this day and age, there are no longer any good reasons to choose white sugar.

2. Stop eating High Fructose Corn Syrup. This is an introduction to what will eventually be a blog on reading ingredients on all processed and pre-made foods from the grocery store. High Fructose Corn Syrup is a dangerous additive and is pretty much in everything, so learn to start reading the boxes of food you buy. It is in a huge variety of foods that you will buy at the grocery store- including some "health foods." Read this:

A Great Short Article on the Dangers of HFCS

The Murky World of High Fructose Corn Syrup

3. When you simply must have a little something sweet, stop buying candy and sweets from the conventional grocery store, and start buying them from your local natural food store. There are lots and lots of amazing, delectable, make your mouth water treats, that don't contain all that garbage. Start shopping at a natural food store and see what you can find. Read the ingredients of your treats and buy the ones with the least refined stuff in it. There are these things called "NO Cookies." Let me just say...they are Amaaaaaazing, & they have no "refined" sugars and none of the other stuff that's a lot more harmful. Try them & other treats labeled this way. Find which ones you like & eat those when the cravings hit.
(With this in mind, don't trade a whole crappy cookie that you would have otherwise eaten, for a whole natural cookie, or 3. Remember, moderation is everything. These are alternatives to the really really bad stuff, but they are still NOT health food. I know I've said it before and I will probably say it again, but too much of a good thing....right? So try a few bites, and see if the craving passes.)

4. By Golly-stop eating aspartame! This means Equal, Sweet-n-Low, Nutrasweet, and every drink labeled diet. It's cancer causing and essentially causes your body to go into shock every time you ingest it. There is something called an "excitotoxin" - and aspartame is one of them. Sounds scary, huh? Yeah, well it is. I will save the aspartame discussion for another time, but it just didn't seem right not to mention it in this discussion on sweets. (OMG- and don't forget Splenda. That stuff is equally scary, and yet it hasn't been around long enough for us to fully know the true long terms effects. Go here: The Truth About Splenda.)

Though I have only given you 4 sugar don'ts , there are literally endless things not to do when it comes to sugar. These are the few that come to mind that make it simple and not a total lifestyle overhaul, for the time being. You aren't totally off the hook, because I can always elaborate later on what not to do, and I probably will. This blog should be a guide for when you're really craving, given that the cravings are not all day long.

With that said, here are the DO's:

1. Raw Unrefined Agave Nectar: Mmmmm...my favorite. It's super sweet, it's liquid, has very little of its own flavor and can be used in tons of recipes, so it's very versatile. It also is super low on the glycemic index, so it doesn't cause the typical spikes in blood sugar levels, and is considered one of the safer sugars for diabetics.

Here is one of my favorite recipes with agave nectar for chocolate milk. This is a completely healthy, no yucky added ingredients, just pure yummy chocolate milk that kids of ALL ages will enjoy.
1 c. Raw milk
1-2 tsp. raw cacao powder (raw cacao powder is bitter dark chocolate and is filled with nutrients and antioxidants, not sweetened at all)
a squeeze of agave nectar to taste
optional: add strawberries or bananas- yum!
**mix all ingredients with a hand blender (because the raw cacao powder doesn't mix easily) and enjoy!

2. Stevia: Stevia is amazing. It is like 1000 times sweeter than sugar- so you need the teeniest bit possible. You can buy it in packets for your coffee or tea- and it comes in a base powder of FOS (a healthy starch from artichokes) or some other starch, so that you can use a normal amount. Be sure to read the ingredients if you buy it in this form. Stevia is also considered completely safe for diabetics and actually has been used as an herb to help people with blood sugar problems. Until recently it was hard to buy outside of the herbal section of your natural food store because sugar companies lobbied the FDA to not let it be sold as a sweetener. They were very scared of its amazingness and they were successful for a long time. Unlike here, it has been used for quite a long time in soft drinks and candies in Japan and other places. It has finally been regulated to be sold as a sweetener in the U.S., so you can now find it in any natural food store. The only downside to stevia is that if you use too much, it can add a slightly funny taste- but using the packets does help to regulate this. I don't recommend it so much in baking unless you have a great recipe, but for teas and drinks its great and for a little sweetening in your cooking it works really well too.

3. Maple Syrup: Yum to the tumtum. But not good on the glycemic index at all, so buyer beware. You can buy it in its unrefined form and a person without blood sugar issues can have it. It tastes good, it's all natural, and is delicious in warm quinoa cereal!

A great healthy gluten free and refined sugar free cereal:
1 c. cooked quinoa
1/2 c. raw milk
maple syrup to taste
cut fresh peaches
dash of cinnamon

YUM!

4. UNREFINED RAW Honey: Honey is like maple syrup, so the basics are pretty much the same. Honey is not as versatile in my opinion as maple syrup, as its not viscous in its raw state - but I like it a lot for sweetening tea and other warm things. It's also very good for people when they have a terribly dry throat or cough and are nursing a cold. Buy local, as honey from your own region has the added benefits of helping with seasonal allergies. You can use it in your cooking as long as you blend it with something warm first to help melt it. Look for good recipes for sweets with honey. Again, high on the glycemic index, but raw natural honey has wonderful health benefits.

My favorite brand.


5. Xylitol: Buy gum with this stuff. Like Xyli-chew. You'll see a lot of the popular brands having xylitol in their gum products now- but be careful. Typically it is not used for the sweetener- rather they often use aspartame. They add xylitol to their products now so that they can claim it helps fight cavities. Which is another beautiful thing about xylitol. You can buy xylitol by the tub and brush your teeth with it - believe it or not. This stuff is awesome & kids love brushing their teeth with it because it's so sweet. You can also use it to sweeten things- but I don't really know how to use it that way. So good luck-and if you find recipes that work let me know!

6. Sucanat (aka Rapadura) Oh awesome Sucanat. I have been making chocolate chip cookies with this stuff for years. It's absolutely hands down the best white sugar substitute there is. Yeah- it's not white- and your cookies come out just a bit darker, but you can substitute it for white sugar in recipes in exact ratios, which is very nice for us less-creative bakers. Sucanat is the unrefined version of sugar cane. It is not separated from the molasses in the drying processing, so it has a caramelly flavor. Again, not so good on the glycemic index, but you can put it in coffee, tea, and baked goods. All-in-all, if you need a sweetener that you can keep in the jar where your white sugar once was- this is it.

(Btw please don't confuse Sucanat with Turbinado Sugar. Turbinado sugar is the browner version of white sugar that is still almost just as refined. Turbinado sugar is the one you can find in coffee shops in the brown packets & it's still not healthy for you.)

7. Last but absolutely not least, eat fruit when you have that craving. Fruit is natural, it's unrefined, and its a great alternative to a candy bar to cure that craving. Strawberries, plums, peaches, they are all so sweet, and sooooooo good. Don't underestimate the power of nature when it comes to your cravings. Experiment with a healthier option, and just see if the craving passes.

Ok that's it. You can be sure that there will be more to come on sugar. For now, you can add this to your home health tool box that is slowly but surely being built. Enjoy this one while you can, because eventually I am going to tell you how to seriously minimize sugars, if not stop them all together, and that one won't be nearly as fun.