10 Healthier Sugar Alternatives You Should Try
Is too much saccharin bad for you? Does agave nectar live up to the hype? What in the world is monk fruit? Find out the scoop on sugar substitutes, which ones are best for your diet, and how to use them in the kitchen.
We all have our dietary weaknesses. Often, sugar is the culprit. It can be difficult to avoid, too, as everything from sodas and decadent dessert, to processed foods contain added sugar. But if you or a loved one have a sweet tooth, it is essential to keep an eye on your sugar intake, especially for older adults. Not only does excess sugar increase the risk of insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes, it has also been linked to mild cognitive impairment. Fortunately, there are a wide range of sugar substitutes available, both natural and artificial, to help you reduce the amount of sucrose in your diet.
How Sugar Affects Your Health
The health benefits of reducing our sugar intake may be incalculable. High sugar intake has been linked to a wide range of health conditions, either directly through its effect on the body or indirectly due to complications from obesity. Complications include:
- Tooth decay and cavities
- Type 2 diabetes
- Malnutrition or poor nutrition
- High triglyceride levels
- Low HDL (“good cholesterol”), which is a risk factor for heart disease
In addition, certain types of cancers may be linked to obesity and poor nutrition.
10 Healthy Alternatives to Sugar and How to Use Them
There are so many sugar alternatives on the market these days that it can be a chore to simply decide among them, let alone figure out how to use them in your day-to-day diet. One critical factor in your decision should be your reason for reducing sugar. If someone is diabetic, for instance, artificial sweeteners are a better choice than sugar alcohols like xylitol, or natural sweeteners like honey, which can still raise blood sugar, though to a lesser extent. Always consult with a doctor if you are not sure of your best option.
Understanding the different categories of sugar alternatives out there can help you figure out which one is best for your diet. The Mayo Clinic describes four common types: artificial sweeteners, sugar alcohols, novel sweeteners and natural sweeteners. Some of these, especially the artificial sweeteners, are also high-intensity sweeteners, which provide many times the sweetness of regular sucrose but without as many calories. Use our list below as a handy guide to some of the most common sugar substitutes and how to incorporate them into your diet.
1. Acesulfame potassium (Sunett, Sweet One)
Type: Artificial sweetener.
Why It’s Healthier: As an artificial sweetener, it doesn’t contribute to tooth decay or raise blood sugar, and it has virtually no calories. However, to avoid any other potential health issues, always be careful not to exceed the FDA’s recommended daily amount.
How to Use It: Besides adding it to food at the table, Ace-K is also heat-stable, which means you can use it in cooking and baking. It is about 200 times sweeter than sugar but doesn’t provide the same bulk or volume, so be sure to make appropriate recipe modifications when you use it in the kitchen.
2. Agave nectar
Type: Natural sweetener.
Why It’s Healthier: It’s low on the glycemic index and doesn’t lead to spikes in blood sugar. However, it does contain a lot of fructose — even more than high-fructose corn syrup — which can lead to weight gain and obesity in excessive amounts, and may also increase insulin resistance. For this reason, it may not be a good choice for diabetics.
How to Use It: Agave is sweeter than sugar, has a long shelf life, and can be used in place of other sweeteners in nearly any cooking situation. Its taste is similar to honey, and it lacks the bitter aftertaste of some sugar substitutes. But because it is a liquid, you might have to make some other changes to your recipes, especially when baking.
4. Coconut Sugar
Type: Natural sweetener.
Why It’s Healthier: It’s unrefined, so it retains all of its vitamins and minerals, and it doesn’t lead to fluctuations in blood sugar, though diabetics will still want to consult a doctor before incorporating it into their diets. It has the same amount of calories as sugar.
How to Use It: Coconut sugar can be used as a one-to-one replacement for white or brown sugar, so it is easy to use in the kitchen. However, it can be very coarse, so Mother Nature News recommends putting it in a blender or food processor for a few moments before using it for baking or in place of powdered sugar.
5. Honey
Type: Natural sweetener.
Why It’s Healthier: Says Doctor Oz, “Raw honey has less fructose than most agave and is the only natural sweetener with other health benefits, which include anti-microbial, heart-healthy and anti-inflammatory effects.” However, in your body, honey breaks down to glucose and fructose just as sugar does, so it poses some of the same health risks.
How to Use It: Honey can be particularly tasty in smoothies, baked goods, sauces, marinades and salad dressings, but it can be sweeter than sugar, so you’ll have to reduce the amount you add, as well as reducing the liquid in baking.
6. Monk Fruit extracts (Nectresse, Monk Fruit in the Raw, PureLo)
Type: Novel sweetener (high intensity).
Why It’s Healthier: You don’t need to use as much, since it’s 150-200 times sweeter than sugar, so it’s good for cutting calories. However, commercially available monk fruit extracts have all been processed to some extent, and may contain other sweeteners in addition, such as sugar alcohols or even sugar itself, so make sure to check the label.
How to Use It: Some find that monk fruit sweeteners have an aftertaste, so if you’re sensitive to that type of flavoring, be cautious when incorporating it into cooking and baking. As with any other high intensity sweetener, you may need to make alterations to your recipes.
7. Date Paste
Type: Natural sweetener.
Why It’s Healthier: Date paste is an easy sugar alternative you can make at home in a blender using 3/4 water, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and about one cup of warm, pitted dates.
How to Use It: Dates can be particularly tasty in smoothies, baked goods, sauces, marinades and salad dressings, but it can be sweeter than sugar, so you’ll have to reduce the amount you add, as well as reducing the liquid in baking.
8. Stevia extracts (Pure Via, Truvia, Rebiana)
Type: Novel sweetener (high intensity).
Why It’s Healthier: Since this plant extract is non-caloric, it’s safe for diabetic use and won’t contribute to obesity. It’s also much sweeter than sugar, so you need less of it to provide the same amount of sweetness.
How to Use It: Though it’s non-chemical, it has a noticeable aftertaste even after it’s been refined, so some people won’t enjoy using it as a sweetener for coffee or tea. It comes in various forms, including powder and liquid, so you may need to experiment to find out which ones work best in different recipes.
9. Sucralose (Splenda)
Type: Artificial sweetener.
Why It’s Healthier: Sucralose is a whopping 600 times sweeter than sugar, but without the calories, so it’s been marketed heavily to dieters and diabetics alike.
How to Use It: There is a wide range of Splenda products available, including sugar-sucralose blends specifically for baking, since sucralose is heat-stable. It can also be added to beverages and foods at the table. Pay attention to amounts: even with the baking blend, you usually don’t need to use as much of it.
10. Xylitol (Birch sugar)
Type: Sugar alcohol.
Why It’s Healthier: Xylitol, sorbitol and other sugar alcohols are usually 25-100% as sweet as sugar. Says the FDA, “Sugar alcohols are slightly lower in calories than sugar and do not promote tooth decay or cause a sudden increase in blood glucose.” However, they do have some effect on blood sugar levels, so diabetics will still want to pay attention to dietary carbohydrates. Also, sugar alcohols may have a laxative effect in large amounts.
How to Use It: Because it comes in granulated form, it is easy to use in place of sugar in beverages, on fruit or cereal, and in cooking and baking — as long as the recipe “doesn’t require the sugar to break down into liquid form,” says BBC Good Food, because xylitol doesn’t caramelize.
Tips for Reducing Sugar
Although not always easy, here are some ways that you can reduce the sugar in your diet on a daily basis.
- Use sugar free preserves to sweeten plain yogurt instead of eating already sweetened yogurt with fruit in it
- Substitute healthy whole fruits for sweetened, processed desserts
- Put fruit on your cereal instead of adding sugar or eating a sweetened cereal
- Instead of a chocolate bar, try a lower-calorie, sugar-free hot chocolate drink
- Snack on dried fruit or trail mix, instead of candy
- Buy unsweetened versions of applesauce, nut butters, non-dairy milk and other products that can hide added sugars
- Add flavors like vanilla, spices, or citrus to add a kick (and the illusion of sweetness) to your tea, coffee, and even oatmeal
With the wide selection of sugar substitutes on the market today, there’s no reason to go cold turkey off the sweet stuff — just do your research and incorporate some of these tips, and you’ll find it doesn’t take much effort to satisfy your sweet tooth while still maintaining a healthy nutritious diet.
Which sugar substitutes do you use most often? What are your favorite tips for reducing sugar in your family’s diet? Join the conversation below.
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