All sugars (even the most wholesome) can cause weight gain, diabetes and heart disease when consumed in excess. Compelling evidence from population studies and clinical trials now implicate that added sugars, particularly fructose, as having the greatest effect on high blood pressure and heart disease.
The American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugars to 5 percent of total calories. This translates to 6 teaspoons/day if you are on a 2,000 calorie diet – that’s just 24 grams per/day. To put this in better perspective one 12 ounce can of coke contains 33 grams.
Honey, coconut sugar, maple syrup, molasses, brown rice syrup, fruit juice concentrates and agave are all professed to being healthy and good replacements for sugar. And although some of them do contain traces of essential nutrients (which sugar contains none) they’re not in any amount significant enough to offset the hormonal disruption that can occur by consuming them – especially if you are trying to lose weight or control a metabolic abnormality like type II diabetes.
We often hear coconut sugar and agave being recommended due to their lower glycemic response, meaning they’re absorbed more slowly into the bloodstream than regular white table sugar and are less likely to create high sugar spikes. Agave, however, is high in fructose, which is harmful to the liver when consumed in excess.
Brown rice syrup and fruit juice concentrates may often contain traces of toxic compounds like arsenic, making them highly unsuitable as an everyday sweetener, especially for children or pregnant and nursing women.
But luckily, despite the fact that even most of the “so called” healthy sweeteners aren’t as healthy as proclaimed, there are some alternatives out there that are actually quite good for you. These sweeteners are low in calories, low in fructose and taste super sweet. Not to mention they won’t disrupt your weight loss effort or throw your hormones out of balance.
1. Stevia
Stevia has now become a very popular low-calorie sweetener. It is extracted from the leaves of a plant called Stevia rebaudiana. (1)
This plant has been grown for sweetness and medicinal purposes for centuries in South America.
There are several sweet compounds found in Stevia leaves, the main ones are Stevioside and Rebaudioside A. Both of these compounds are hundreds of times sweeter than sugar, gram for gram.
The really great thing about stevia is the fact that its super sweet yet has virtually no calories.
There are some studies that implicate Stevia as reducing blood pressure by as much as 14 percent in people suffering from hypertension. However, it has no effect on blood pressure that is normal or only mildly elevated. (2, 3)
Stevia has also been shown to lower blood sugar levels in diabetics.
Studies done in rats have shown that Stevia can improve insulin sensitivity, reduce oxidized LDL cholesterol and reduce plaque buildup in the arteries. (4)
So, if you need to sweeten something, Stevia may be the healthiest choice available today and the one I recommend to my personal clients.
However, a small majority of people do complain about Stevia’s slight liquorish aftertaste. I have personally found this to be directly linked to the its brand though. My suggestion is to experiment a little until you find one that works well with your palate.
2. Erythritol
Erythitol is another low-calorie sweetener described as having a zero glycemic index. (5)
It is a sugar alcohol that is found naturally in certain fruits, but if you’re buying powdered Erythritol then it will most likely be made via an industrial process. It contains 0.24 calories per gram, or about 6% of the calories as sugar, with 70 percent of sugar’s sweetness.
Erythritol has been shown to have no barring blood sugar or insulin levels and no effect on biomarkers for cholesterol or triglycerides. This sweetener, in fact, is absorbed into the body through your intestines and excreted through your kidneys virtually unchanged. (6, 7)
Studies show that Erythritol is extremely safe and an excellent sweetening choice. However, same as with other sugar alcohols, it can cause digestive issues in some individuals if consumed in too high a dose.
Erythritol tastes very much like sugar, although some people claim it can have a mild aftertaste.
I wouldn’t say that Erythritol is “super healthy” – but it certainly doesn’t appear to be harmful in any way and seems to be better tolerated than most other sugar alcohols. (8)
3. Xylitol
Xylitol is a sugar alcohol with sweetness very similar to sugar. It contains 2.4 calories per gram, or about 2/3rds of the caloric value of sugar. (9)
Xylitol appears to have some benefits for dental health, reducing the risk of cavities and dental decay. It may also improve bone density, helping to prevent osteoporosis.
Another good thing about Xylitol is that it doesn’t raise blood sugar or insulin levels which are great for those on a weight loss journey or struggling with a metabolic issue like, insulin resistance, or type II diabetes. (10)
However, as with other sugar alcohols, it can cause digestive side effects at high doses.
Also note that if you have a dog, you may want to avoid xylitol as a sweetening option due to the fact that it is very highly toxic to dogs. (11)
4. Yacon Syrup
Yacon syrup is a rather unique sweetener that isn’t really well known in the Western culture. It is harvested from the Yacon plant, which grows natively in the Andes in South America. (12)
Although, this sweetener has recently become somewhat popular as a weight loss supplement due to the fact that one study found that it caused significant weight loss in overweight women. (13)
Yacon syrup is very high in fructooligosaccharides, which function as a soluble fiber that feed the good bacteria in the intestine but is indigestible by the human body. (14, 15)
Although (due to the high amount of soluble fiber) there seems to be various benefits behind this sweetener (including the alleviation of constipation), eating too much at one time has been shown to cause digestive problems in some people. (16)
