6 Natural Sugar Substitutes to Use in Place of the Processed Stuff

You don’t have to cut out sugar to be healthy. Your body needs sugar for energy. That said, there is a limit to how much you should eat. An ideal diet consists of no more than 10% of calories from added sugar, 12 teaspoons for an average intake of 2,000 calories.

Instead of cutting sugar from your diet, focus on the types of sugar you consume.

Natural sugar substitutes are a great way to sweeten your favorite treats and reap health benefits at the same time. Read on to see our top six natural sugar substitutes worth trying. You might be surprised at how many you already have in your pantry.

For more diet hacks, check out why chia seed water might be your next favorite drink and what foods you should eat to protect your kidneys.

What are sugar substitutes?

Before we get into sugar substitutes, it’s important to clarify that sugar is not necessarily bad for you. It is vital for your health. Your body converts carbohydrates into glucose, a form of sugar, which is a primary source of energy to keep your body moving and your brain functioning. Despite what some popular diet fads advocate, without carbs and sugars you may experience health problems and symptoms such as low energy, sleep problems and brain fog.

The goal should not be to avoid sugar, but to consume the right thing species of sugar. Much of the current American diet consists of added sugars, which are processed and refined to add intense sweetness without much substance. Ultra-refined white sugar and high fructose corn syrup are common ingredients in soft drinks, baked goods, breads and condiments. These are delivered quickly into your bloodstream without adding any other nutritional value. Excessive consumption of these sugars can lead to serious health complicationsincluding high blood pressure, diabetes and fatty liver disease.

You can find the amount of added sugar on the nutrition label and ingredients list of each food. The higher the added sugar is on the ingredients list, the more sugar is in the product. Added sugars have many names, such as brown sugar, corn sweeteners, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, glucose, high fructose corn syrup, malt syrup, maltose and sucrose.

Natural sugars, on the other hand, are unrefined or only lightly processed and occur naturally in many foods. FruitFor example, they contain fructose, but they are also high in fiber, providing a balanced combination of nutrients for your body. Honey And maple syrup are naturally sweet but rich in minerals, vitamins and antioxidants.

There are also several natural sweeteners and sugar substitutes you can add to foods and drinks that provide sweetness without the drawbacks of refined sugars. Examples of these alternative sugars include sugar alcohols such as sorbitol, artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and natural sweeteners such as stevia.

Best natural sugar substitutes

Here’s the good news: If you want to cut back on sugar, you still have plenty of options to keep it sweet. Below are six of the best natural sugar substitutes that you can add to your diet in place of refined sugars.

Honey

Honey has long been valued not only for its natural sweetness, but also for its nutritional value. Bees make it from plant nectar during the pollination process and it contains a range of beneficial plant compounds and antioxidants.

Raw and darker honey, which has been minimally processed, is rich in mainly flavonoids and phenolic acids. These offer many benefitsincluding positive effects on cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and respiratory health. It has even been proven reduce seasonal allergies.

Maple syrup

Another popular natural sweetener, maple syrup, has claimed its place on many pancakes. If you use less sugar, you may want to skip the pancakes but stick to the syrup produced from the sap of sugar maples.

That’s because maple syrup, like honey, contains antioxidants and minerals beneficial for your health. Many of the unique compounds in maple syrup have been shown to help fight cancer and diabetes. The darkens the maple syrupthe less refined it is, and the more of these benefits it can provide.

Stevia

If you’re not a fan of the taste of maple syrup or honey but still want a way to sweeten drinks and recipes, stevia is a great natural sugar alternative to try. This sweetener is made from the Stevia plant, and it is 200 to 400 times sweeter then table sugar.

As a sugar substitute, stevia is not nutritious, meaning it contains almost no calories. It adds sweetness without much else, which may be exactly what you’re looking for if you’re cutting back on sugar. Stevia has been too correlated with reduced blood sugar levels and cholesterol. Keep in mind that many stevia products on the market contain other processed ingredients or sugar alcohols, so it’s important to do your research before using them.

Pureed fruit

If you’re looking for a nutritionally balanced form of sugar, it’s hard to beat raw fruit. The dietary fiber present in raw fruits aids in digestion and slows down sugar metabolismreducing the blood sugar spikes you may see with fruit juice or sugar additives. Eating fiber-rich foods can also help you reduce your overall calorie intake and lower your risk of heart disease.

Pureed fruits provide many of the same benefits, and they can serve as sweeteners to add to other foods. For example, applesauce works as an egg substitute in many recipes, and pureed berries make a great addition to plain, unsweetened yogurt.

Monk fruit

Monk fruit is another plant-based alternative sugar. This is extracted from the monk fruit, also known as luo han guo, a small round fruit common in Southeast Asia. Although the monk fruit itself contains fructose and glucose, they actually do removed during extraction process, which creates a non-nutritive sweetener that is about 100 times sweeter than table sugar.

Monk fruit is relatively new to the market, so further research is needed to determine all potential health benefits. Research into other non-nutritive sweeteners shows promising results weight management And warding off diabetes. Also the naturally sweet mogrosides in monk fruit contain antioxidantswhich can help with immune health and cancer prevention.

Fruit juice

Fruit juice is a natural sweetener that you can drink straight, add to other drinks or herbs or even use in cooking. 100% fruit juice is a much better option than refined table sugar or high fructose corn syrup because fruit juice is natural and unprocessed. It too contains many vitamins and nutrients.