Types Of Natural Sugar Alternatives

By Esther George

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 sugar is one choice much better for you than refined white sugar. This natural sugar can provide easy to digest energy when consumed in small amounts, benefiting your body. This type of sugar will cause your body to store fat if you eat too much. This is what we try to avoid, but in small doses provides a good alternative.

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.

Artificial sugar alternatives are not generally good for cooking with. While they may work for sweetening tea and coffee, they often get a chemical taste during cooking. This is why most homes will have refined sugar in the pantry, even when artificial sweeteners are used.

You can find natural sugar alternatives that are adaptable for baking and you other sweetening needs. Honey is the traditional alternative sweetener choice that can be used for baking and other sweetening. Honey is all natural, and like other sweeteners is good for you when used in moderation. When used in baking, it thickens batters up.

Honey also works in coffee and tea. Honey crystals are available that are dried, making them easy to use. Honey crystals are good to add over cereal or in beverages.

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!

With all the natural sugar alternatives on your grocer's aisle, make sure you do your research. With so many options, you want to find the one that is right for your heart, health and weight. Make sure that you have the best natural sugar alternatives in your pantry.

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