By now, you've heard that Princeton has come out with a scathing report on the effects of High Fructose Corn Syrup (something my friends and family are surely tired of hearing me repeat....for years now). Yes, HFCS can cause you to GAIN weight, as if eating those Twinkies and washing it down with Sprite weren't enough!
What kind of sweeteners would be a better idea, you ask? That's what I'm here for: To give you the best darn advice I can find. So let's just explain, briefly, why I don't recommend anything other than the ones I will below. White sugar, Florida Crystals, Raw Sugar, Turbinado Sugar, and others like these are simply white sugar with a bit more brown sugar in them. The problem with them is that they have been denatured, or rather, stripped of their natural nutrients. Yes, sugar actually can be nutritious; you just need the best sugars.
These sugars won't let you down, and with some fat (good animal fats) in your diet, they won't bring you up--your blood sugar, that is:
Maple Sugar: Pure maple sugar, Grade B is the best. You can find this on Amazon! Good stuff.
Molasses: The natural by-product of white sugar. Just get the unsulfured versions.
Honey: Raw, unheated, unprocessed is best. Some health food stores have them, or on-line.
Rapadura or Sucanat: These are unrefined sugars that have all their yummy nutrients still intact. Look for them in most health food stores or, again, Amazon.
Stevia Powder: They are now selling this in supermarkets nationally. I'd still look for the health food versions, just to be on the safe side.
Date Sugar, Maple Sugar, Rice Syrup, Sorghum Syrup: All in the health food stores or on-line.
All of these are traditional sweetners; in other words, they've stayed the test of time. Anything made by man/industry is usually a messed up thing to put into your body. Especially into the growing bodies of our children. Keep them safe and healthy, and go for the natural sweetness Mother Nature has provided.
2 comments:
Thanks for keeping this simple and easy to follow and take away. There is no need for me to be overwhelmed with this list. I will work more at bringing home the best sweeteners I can from now on.
The thing that makes me uncomfortable is I do not always now how to substitute sugar in recipes. Is it cup for cup? A cup of white sugar for a cup of Sucanat, etc?
That's the way I do it, Tracy. Sometimes I adjust to taste, but mostly it works cup for cup. I use a lot of maple syrup and raw honey to sweeten things. Love those real sweetners!
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