The low down on sweeteners

At the end of the day, sugar is sugar. Whether it’s refined, unrefined, natural or whatever label we put on it. Lets not kid ourselves by thinking that brownies full of dates, maple syrup or coconut sugar are that different to sugar, it all breaks down the same way. Yes, they’re blimin delicious and are to be enjoyed for what they are. No guilt, no shame, simply enjoy it. If your aim is to eat less sweet food or to try to change your eating habits then I hope this blog is useful.

There doesn’t seem to be a perfect sweetener which suits everyone and what works for me may not work for you so play around. 

Some sweeteners are promoted as being healthy because they are low in glucose, this can sometimes mean that fructose levels are sky high. Every cell in our body can metabolize glucose but fructose is metabolised by the liver in the same pathways as fat so too much refined fructose can potentially put our liver under stress. Moderation is always the key!

One issue with a lot of sweeteners out there is that they are highly processed.  Natural fructose found in fruit is different than refined fructose as it's bound with essential vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, fiber, and other nutrients.  When we eat fruit, sugar is released into our system at a much slower rate as it’s combined with fibre and fat (i.e. adding fruit to a smoothie is a better option than juicing fruit and removing the fibre especially if you are trying to minimise the impact on blood sugar).  Fructose found in refined sugars and highly processed syrups (eg high fructose corn syrup and agave) have been stripped of all nutrients and fibre so these foods flood the body with a load of calories and sugar and we would never find anything this sweet in “the wild” outside of a bee hive.

SWEETENERS TO CONSIDER

Home-made fruit syrups - from dried fruit such as apricots, figs, dates or raisins.  Be mindful when buying dried fruit to check that there are no added extras (ie, sugar, oil & sulphates) and if possible, choose organic wherever you can.  Dates are high in glucose so if you are diabetic or concerned about glucose then these are best enjoyed in in moderation - when bound with fats and fibre, the release of sugar into the bloodstream is slowed down.  Try making your own home-made fruit syrup from dried fruit (soak the fruit, blend with lemon, water & a pinch of salt).

Raw Honey is a wholefood full of vitamins, high in enzymes and is both antibacterial and antimicrobial.  Honey has numerous health benefits including helping to heal colds, flu and a sore throat.  It is still incredibly sweet and contains about the same amount of glucose as regular sugar, maybe a bit less but it’s pretty close.  Heat damages enzymes so ideally opt for a honey that’s cold pressed or unpasteurised to preserve essential nutrients (this will be be clearly indicated on the label – if not, assume it’s heated). Some ethical brands also state on the label that they don't feed their bees sugar or antibiotics which is great for the bees and for us.

Maple Syrup in my opinion is lush! It contains minerals manganese & zinc, but so do a lot of other foods.  There are many different grades of maple syrup so look out for a high grade syrup.  It’s lower in glucose than honey and contains more fat which means that the sugars hit the bloodstream at a slower rate. Remember, it still breaks down into glucose in our body and is stored the same way that all sugar is stored.

Raw Coconut Crystals & Nectar are high in minerals and rate lower in both glucose & fructose than sugar.  A lovely molasses-style caramel taste.  If you’re watching your sugar intake, use sparingly as this sweetener can spike blood sugar levels at a similar rate as raw honey and sugar.

Blackstrap Molasses – a very strong flavoured sweetener which you either love or loathe. I wouldn’t say it’s particularly sweet even though it’s made from heated raw cane sugar and sugarbeet. Sugar crystals are extracted leaving a black tar-like substance packed with minerals including iron, calcium & magnesium. It can potentially support good bone health and is possibly one of the healthier options.

Agave Syrup has a very low GI rating but is incredibly processed and high in fructose without any of the phytonutrients and fibre found in whole fruit.  The quality of agave nectar varies dramatically and the majority of it is highly refined with numerous added chemicals.  You may be able to find organic brands and if you love it, have it and go easy. My personal experience with agave is that once you start, nothing ever tastes sweet enough, it blows your tastebuds through the roof, but that might just be me,

Yacon Syrup is my absolute favourite – it tastes beautiful, is natural, sustainable and has very low impact on blood sugar levels so is suitable for most diabetics.  Yacon is a root vegetable with very little glucose and fructose. Instead, it contains FOS and inulin, pre-biotics which feeds healthy bacteria in our bowel. It can be a little tricky to source at times and isn’t the cheapest option available but well worth getting hold of if you can find it. Let me point out that one person’s poison is another’s medicine. No two people have the same microbiome and what makes one gut happy may not make another happy. Some people who experience SIBO or are sensitive to inulin may not do well with yacon.

Inulin syrup from Chicory Root Extract - inulin is deliciously sweet, it’s like a milder less-sweet version of honey. It can improve the growth of some of the bacteria we want to thrive in our colon and can help people to reduce sweet food consumption and balance blood sugar levels. For some Diabetic clients I’ve met on retreat, this product has been a game changer. For many other people, the windy gas it creates means it’s unbearable! If you fancy it, this is a great brand - Troo

Lucuma is another wonderful creamy low GI sweetener. It’s a fruit from Peru, similar to a peach and is generally found in powder form. It can be added to smoothies and used to make cakes and desserts with.

Stevia – a herb which can be found in powder or liquid form. Stevia isn’t actually a sweetener, it’s a sweet booster and works best alongside other sweeteners.  It’s pretty awful on it’s own! It’s incredibly sweet and can often have a very bitter taste (although some brands have worked on reducing the component that affects the bitter receptors on our tongue) so you only need a few drops to lift a whole recipe, more than that is too much. Using stevia means you can reduce the amount of calories you take in from sweeteners and top up with a few drops of stevia.  I recommend a company called Daforto located in Germany – have a look at their website for detailed information about stevia. I also really like using Nick’s brand - a lovely range of stevia flavours

Xylitol - it's classed as a sugar alcohol (does not contain ethanol), it sounds incredibly toxic and it certainly isn’t the most natural sweetener to choose from but it does come with its advantages. It isn't yet sourced organically and the end product will contain some chemical residue but it has 40% less calories than sugar. There is no guarantee this won’t spike your blood sugar levels as it will depend on your unique microbiome. If you try it, be sure to source xylitol from the bark of birch trees as opposed to xylitol from corn which is also on the market and almost always from GMO sources.  Xylitol is best used in moderation as it can cause digestive distress if consumed in large quantities. It’s also toxic to dogs so be extra careful around your precious pooches.

Erythritol - another sugar alcohol similar in taste to xylitol, maybe a little milder. Some people find it easier to digest than xylitol as it it is absorbed into the blood stream and excreted in urine.

I personally find both Xylitol and Erythritol strong in flavour so I recommend layering sweeteners in recipes - use more than one sweetener to give depth of flavour and to keep the sweetness balanced. Too heavy on the sugar alcohols can ruin a recipe.

Monk fruit - a beautiful low GI sweetener. As far as I know, in the UK, it’s only available in a blend mixed with xylitol or erythritol . It can also be found in liquid form and used in the same manner as liquid stevia.

A final note about blood sugar. Food is not the only thing that impacts our blood sugar levels. We can eat the lowest glycemic foods and find ourselves with sky-high blood sugar readings. We are beautifully complex creatures and do not respond to food like a machine. It is not a case of carbohydrate in, blood sugar up. There are so many factors to consider - hydration, stress, how we eat, when we eat and exercise plus many other contributing factors. So, your best bet is to enjoy your food, figure out what works for you, watch your thoughts around food and the way that you eat and opt for less sweet food all round, whichever sweetener is your preference.