So you have decided to give sugar the boot, but you would still like to have a bit of sweet in your life. You know that conventional sweeteners are unhealthy, but what are the alternatives?
Why is sugar bad? Apart from causing tooth cavities and making us pick up weight, sugar causes large spikes of Insulin, a hormone that helps cells absorb sugar from the blood stream. Constant high Insulin levels increase your chances of Diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Raised Insulin lveles can also cause hormonal problems like infertility and Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome in women and low testosterone in men that can lead to fatigue and erectile dysfunction. Sugar is highly addictive and stimulates the same parts of our brains as drugs like cocaine.
The Good:
Xylitol is a natural low calorie sugar found in tree bark and is harvested from birch tree forests or manufactured from corn. The beauty of xylitol is that it doesn’t affect insulin levels, so it doesn’t increase chances of developing insulin resistance, diabetes or hormonal problems. Xylitol has slight antibacterial properties and unlike table sugar actually prevents tooth decay. It is often used in sugar free gum, and can be used in baking. It has a slightly cool mouth feel which is different from table sugar, but this effect can be reduced if used in combination with Stevia. Xylitol can cause diarrhoea in large quantities, so if your tummy gets upset when using xylitol initially, reduce the amount you consume per day until your system adjusts.
Stevia is extracted from a plant called Stevia rebaudiana that grows in Bazil and Paraguai. It is 600 times sweeter than sugar and contains no calories. Be careful of sweetener sachets and tablets made with stevia as these often contain dextrose (a sugar) and sucralose (as discussed above in the ‘worst’ category). Stevia is best used in a pure powder or liquid form. Please be super careful how much you use: 6 drops are equal in sweetness to a spoon of table sugar so it is easy to use too much. Stevia is great for baking- use in combination with xylitol.
Erythritol is a no calorie sweetener that occurs naturally in some fruit and fermented foods. It is similar to xylitol. It has less risks of causing diarrhoea in susceptible people because it is absorbed higher up in the digestive tract. It can cause headaches and slight nausea in a small percentage of people if consumed in large quantities.
The Not-So-Good:
A lot of natural sugars substitutes are still sugars with the same risks as normal table sugar. They might be less refined, but they still cause large insulin spikes and still have the same risks of increasing your chances of obesity, diabetes, cancer etc. Remember that all raw or brown sugars are still sugar at heart with maybe a bit of caramel or molasses added.
Honey falls into this category. It is a great medicinal substance in raw form to treat ailments like sore throats and skin diseases. A spoon of honey made by bees in your area taken daily for a few weeks before spring can even help prevent hayfever, but honey is still mostly sugar and should not be taken daily as a sugar substitute.
Agarve is a sugar that is made from the same plant that tequila is made. It is a high fructose sugar. Fructose is the sugar most commonly found in fruit, and can be healthy if consumed in whole fruit where fibre content slows down sugar absorption and the amount consumed is limited. Concentrated fructose as is found in Agarve syrup can increase fats in the blood (triglycerides) and can cause fat deposits in the liver itself (fatty liver syndrome) which affects liver function.
The Ugly:
Saccharin has been linked to increased chances of developing bladder cancer in a number of studies.
Aspartamine has been linked to weight gain (!) and decreased insulin sensitivity, which can lead to insulin resistance and ultimately type 2 diabetes.
Sucralose was once thought to be the answer to our sugar prayers, but is starting to not look too good either. It is made by adding a chlorine molecule to normal table sugar which makes it less absorbable. The problem is that the small percentage that does get absorbed is very difficult for your body to get rid of. Sucralose has been linked to possible birth defects, cancer, and immune dysfunction.
Try to do a 10 day Sugar detox. Avoid all sugars except for xylitol, Stevia and Erythritol from your diet. Your sugar cravings will get less severe each day and will eventually disappear.
Keep Well,
Dr Jana