All these “healthy’ sugars are flooding the market. I went to Whole Foods Market the other day and was confronted with 5 shelves of “healthy” sweeteners. But which ones are REALLY healthy? Here are some of the sweeteners that you probably have seen if not used: Agave, Brown Rice Syrup, honey, coconut palm sugar, golden syrup, raw sugar, date sugar, molasses – and the list goes on.
Although the glycemic index of sweeteners is important, especially to those who are diabetic, it’s also important to understand whether or not you are consuming an empty calorie or not. When choosing which sweetener to use, I always keep this in mind.
Here’s the simple truth: All of my above list are EMPTY CALORIE sweeteners (zero nutrition), with the exception of three:
- Yacon Syrup
- Date Sugar
- Molasses
If I had to pick the healthiest out of these two, it would be:
Yacon Syrup because it contains naturally occurring sweeteners called Fructooligosaccharides (aka FOS), and these guys have loads of healthy benefits including the fact that they are good for your gut. Yacon Syrup comes from a South American Tuber, and is almost always organic. Yacon syrup is also diabetic-friendly. Do make sure you find a brand that is the real thing and not mixed with anything else.
Next up would be Date Sugar because it does contain a bunch of nutrients. I also love to bake with it because it helps to thicken the batter.
Finally I’d choose Molasses, which contains iron and other nutrients, but there’s only so much that I can do with Molasses (gingerbread is most certainly one of them).
Now, there is nothing wrong with a dab of raw honey, brown rice syrup, or coconut palm sugar, and many of these have a lower glycemic index (won’t spike your blood sugar so quickly), than your standard refined sugar, but use them in moderation because we’re talking EMPTY calories, and who wants a calorie if it’s totally devoid of nutrition?
What about Stevia and Monk Fruit? Yep – they are not going to harm your health in anyway, but I don’t use them very much because they are 500X sweeter than sugar and thus give my taste buds an unrealistic sense of sweetness.
Make sure your Yacon Syrup is unadulterated and the real thing: I like Navitas Naturals Organic Yacon Syrup.
I like Bob’s Red Mill Date Sugar, and always have a giant bag to hand!
Glycemic Index:
This refers to how quickly any sugar/sweetener will spike your blood sugar. I include this information because if you are diabetic or insulin resistant, you will need this information:
Yacon Syrup: Glycemic Index: 1
Date Sugar: Glycemic Index: 39 – 45
Blackstrap Molasses: Glycemic Index: 54
A little tidbit: A recent study compared the glycemic index of different varieties of dates!
