5 Types of Natural, Healthy Sugars
Are you someone who cherishes their health as much as their desserts? Are you looking for natural healthy sugars to swap out the unhealthy refined sugar? You’ve come looking to the right place, because we’re exploring which types of natural sweeteners can be substituted for refined table sugar.
People tend to crave sugar for many reasons, and most often these cravings are related to the dopamine spike that you experience after consuming something super sweet and sugary. Refined sugar-made foods and beverages give you an instant boost of energy and the happy hormone, dopamine, but this energy isn’t sustainable. As you eat more sugary foods, you crave more sugar because refined sugar doesn’t have any other nutrients so it absorbs in your bloodstream very quickly.
This instant absorption spikes your blood sugar levels and then drops it quickly, because you’re consuming empty calories without any nutrients and minerals (like fiber, potassium, and iron, to name a few). This is the reason why it’s important to find natural healthy sugars that retain their nutrients and minerals to help balance your blood sugar levels.
But before we explore some types of healthy alternatives to refined sugar, let’s dig a little deeper in terms of why refined sugar is so unhealthy. So, grab some naturally sweetened fruit sorbet while you scoop out the reasons why refined sugar is bad for you.
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Navigate to where you want to go: 1. Why is Refined Sugar Unhealthy? 2. What are Some Types of Natural, Healthy Sugars? a. Honey b. Fruit Puree c. Maple Syrup e. Date Sugar |
Why is Refined Sugar Unhealthy?
We’ve heard that refined sugar is unhealthy, but it is also known that refined sugar technically comes from plant sources like sugarcane and beet. So, why is refined sugar bad for you?
The answer lies in the term used to define this table sugar—it is a refined sugar. Refined sugar is made by filtering out (or refining) sugarcane or beet juices to crystallize the sugar component from these plants’ juices.
This chemical process strips away all of the nutrients from these plant juices and forms sucrose (man-made/synthetic sugar). In other words, the product left behind is nothing but sugar, which is extremely high in calories and promotes weight gain.
Refined sugar is considered to have a very high glycemic index. Glycemic Index (GI) is a tool that measures how quickly a particular food raises your blood sugar levels after it is consumed.
In other words, refined sugar (since it’s without any other nutrients other than sugar) absorbs into your bloodstream very quickly and causes spikes in your blood sugar levels; this can further lead to many health issues. In fact, excess sugar consumption can also lead to gut inflammation, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and even cancer.
This is why it's important to find natural healthy sugars that you can use as substitutes for refined sugar, so that these natural sweeteners sweeten your foods and beverages without the unhealthy disadvantages associated with refined sugar.
What are Some Types of Natural, Healthy Sugars?
Now that we understand why refined sugar is unhealthy for us to consume, let's take a look at some natural healthy sugars that we can use to substitute for refined sugar in our everyday foods:
Honey
When we think about natural healthy sugars, honey often comes to mind as the top sweetener on the list of healthy alternatives to refined sugar.
This is credited to the consideration of raw honey as a natural sweetener in many recipes, and also due to honey’s ability to mimic the sweetness of sugar without causing major blood sugar spikes in your body. Honey contains natural fructose sugar instead of sucrose, which is also known as table or refined sugar.
Raw, unfiltered honey has a lower glycemic index than refined sugar, which makes it an important part of the natural healthy sugars. This means that honey does not spike your blood sugar levels as quickly as refined sugar does, and is rather capable of helping you manage your blood sugar levels after you consume it. Having said that, it is still important to consume honey in moderation, because too much of anything can be harmful for you (this is especially important for those who are struggling with diabetes).
In addition to a lower rise in your blood sugar levels, honey actually helps increase the growth of good bacteria in your gut, and is, therefore, able to promote good gut health and digestion. Plus, it’s not only rich in nutrients and antioxidants, but is also considered to have healing capabilities due to its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties.
In fact, raw honey can help prevent allergies, infections, and fight off illnesses better than store-bought honey, especially if it’s local. The reason for this is that store-bought honey is heavily filtered, which strips away the nutrients and leaves you with honey that is mostly sugar (without the healthy benefits). And, store-bought honey also does not always come from local hives. Why is that important, you ask?
This is because local honey comes from bees that live in the same environment as yourself, and are exposed to the same pollen that could be responsible for causing your seasonal allergies. Therefore, by consuming local raw honey you are better equipping your body to protect you against those environmental strains.
Make this mouth-watering Quinoa Fruit Salad with Ginger-Honey Dressing that is both nutritious and anti-inflammatory!
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Fruit Puree
When considering various types of natural sweeteners, using fruit purees in recipes is often recommended if you’re trying to include more natural healthy sugars in your diet.
Fruit puree is developed by simply pureeing a fruit (i.e. bananas, apples, raisins) in a food processor or blender, and using this mashed fruit in recipes as a substitute of refined sugar.
Fruit purees (without any added sugar) contain fructose (natural sugars) and the health benefits of being enriched with nutrients and fiber. This helps fruit purees maintain a lower glycemic index than refined sugar, because the fiber in the fruit helps your body slowly absorb the sugar (and doesn’t cause sugar spikes in your bloodstream).
Moreover, fruit purees also contain antioxidants, vitamins (i.e. vitamin C, vitamin E), and minerals (i.e. iron, magnesium, potassium), which are all responsible for providing you with great health benefits.
When considering which fruit to use for a particular recipe, it’s always a great idea to pick fruits that pair better with the final product. For instance, pureed bananas and apples work great in baking recipes, because they absorb well into the wet baking mixture prior to placing it in the oven.
Therefore, deciding on the type of fruit puree to use will depend largely on what you’re making and the role of sugar in that recipe.
Try this yummy, Lemon-Blueberry Blender Oats recipe that uses banana puree to sweeten the baked oats!
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Maple Syrup
Maple syrup has also been considered part of the family of natural healthy sugars. This is due to maple syrup’s lower glycemic index than refined sugar, and its adaptability to be used in cooking, baking, and as a topping.
Maple syrup comes in different varieties: the darker colored maple syrup is specifically used for baking, and the lighter one is used as a topping. Essentially, the darker the color, the stronger the maple flavor in it, which is why darker ones are great for adding inside recipes that require the taste and smell of maple more than sugar.
It’s important to note that maple syrup, just like honey, is healthier if it’s bought locally, instead of getting it from the grocery store. This is because grocery stores may have “maple-flavored” syrups, instead of real maple syrup, which often contain an extremely high amount of added sugar and flavoring.
To avoid this, either try to buy local 100% maple syrup, or make sure that you’re reading the labels carefully to ensure that the store-bought syrup is genuine maple syrup.
Maple syrup has some health benefits as it is a good source of minerals like manganese and zinc. It is, however, mostly made up of sugar (even though it’s natural sugar, but that’s still sugar), so it’s important to consume it in moderation. This is especially important to note for those dealing with diabetes, weight gain, and gut inflammation symptoms.
Try this delicious maple syrup-topped, gut-healthy breakfast to beat those sugar cravings right at the start of the day!
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Coconut Sugar
Another type of sugar that is considered an important part of the natural healthy sugars category is coconut sugar.
Though the process is expansive, the simple way to understand how coconut sugar is made is quite similar to the production of maple syrup. In other words, coconut sugar is made by extracting the sap from the coconut palm trees, and then filtered and boiled until it crystallizes in the form of sugar.
Coconut sugar carries more health benefits than refined sugar, because even after the production process, it still retains some nutrients like zinc, potassium, iron, and calcium. It also contains inulin, which is a type of prebiotic fiber (fuel for probiotics) that promotes the growth of friendly bacteria in the gut and slows down sugar absorption.
This means that coconut sugar not only helps you manage your blood sugar levels better than refined sugar, but also aids in maintaining good gut health and weight management goals.
Additionally, coconut sugar is often considered as one of the best types of alternatives to refined sugar when it comes to versatility since it is able to be used as a substitute for just about anything that refined sugar is used in. You can use coconut sugar in anything from tea and coffee to cookies and desserts without worrying about adding additional flavorings or sweetness.
As it is with any type of sugar, it’s important to remember to consume coconut sugar in moderation to get the benefits of the sweet taste without the disadvantages of consuming too much sugar.
Make this easy Magnesium-Rich, Chocolate-Dipped Frozen Bananas with Coconut for a healthy dessert option!
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Date Sugar
Another item that can be added to the category of natural healthy sugars is date sugar. Date sugar is made from dried dates, and contains fiber, nutrients, and antioxidant properties.
The process of making date sugar particularly involves using dried dates to ground them into powder form, which can then be used in baking, cooking, and topping food and beverages (just like refined sugar). Date sugar also has a lower glycemic index and helps to stabilize blood sugar levels better than refined sugar.
Dates are enriched with dietary fiber, which not only makes them great for gut health, but also ensures that the sugar will gradually get absorbed into the bloodstream rather than causing blood sugar spikes. To add to this, date sugar is a good source of energy boost and maintaining heart health, because of its vitamins and mineral content (it has vitamin B6, potassium, iron, and magnesium).
It’s important to note that dates are a naturally sweet fruit, which means that date sugar doesn’t have to undergo any refining or chemical processes to produce it into the sugar form. This allows date sugar to naturally sweeten your food, retaining the nutrients of the whole fruit, without extensive processing techniques that strip refined sugar of any and all nutrients.
Conclusion (and some health tips!)
Natural healthy sugars are a great way to substitute refined sugar in baking and cooking recipes as well as in your everyday food/beverage items like tea, coffee, or yogurt.
Apart from the ones listed above, there are also a few other natural sugars that you can use as a substitute for refined sugar: Blue Agave, Molasses, and unrefined/unfiltered Raw Organic Brown Sugar that doesn't contain any sulfur.
It is, however, essential to note that the calories of these sugars are still almost equivalent to refined sugar, so moderation is key. In other words, while the types of natural sweeteners listed above are great for swapping out regular, table sugar, it’s critical that even natural healthy sugars are used in moderation.
If you’re wondering about the connection between natural sugars and weight loss, then it’s important to recognize that any type of sugar (natural or synthetic) contributes to fat when consumed in excess. Please remember that just because these natural sugars are healthier alternatives to refined sugar, that does not mean that they can be safely consumed in higher amounts. So, make sure that when you substitute these natural healthy sugars in your everyday foods, you are using them in moderation.
