HOW DO SWEETENERS RANK HEALTH-WISE?
Although all sweeteners taste sweet, different sweeteners have different effects on your body. There are definitely some sweeteners that rank on the low end of the spectrum compared to others.
The worst sweeteners:
- Sucralose (AKA Splenda)
- Aspartame (AKA NutraSweet)
A close second to the worst:
- High fructose corn syrup
- Fruit juice concentrate
- Agave nectar
- White sugar
- Brown sugar
- Coconut sugar
- Raw honey
Even though xylitol and stevia are the best, you should still use them only sparingly. No matter how you put it, a high amount of any kind of sugar can still lead to problems down the road.
WHAT ARE THEY?
Sucralose, better known as Splenda, is created from chlorinating sugar. This chlorine consumption can affect your immune system and lead to a damaged thyroid.
Aspartame, better known as NutraSweet, is another non-natural sweetener. It has been linked with epilepsy, brain tumors and Parkinson’s disease. It has also been shown to damage your digestive system.
High fructose corn syrup is processed from genetically modified corn starch. This type of sugar is extremely high on the glycemic index.
Fruit juice concentrate is a processed juice from fruits such as white grapes and oranges. Fruit juice concentrate has been processed so much that it provides your body with few nutrients, but leaves you with all the sugar to rush into your liver.
Agave nectar is a food that has been marketed as “healthy” from big companies. Even though this is a natural sweetener, it can contain up to 90% fructose, which has to be broken down by your liver and usually leads to fat storage in the long-run.
*High fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrate and agave nectar must be processed in your liver. They bypass the brain’s satiety switch causing your body to overeat.
White sugar is typically made from sugarcane, beets or corn. In more recent years, it is processed usually from genetically modified crops, which provide your body with no nutrients or minerals.
Even though many people claim that brown sugar is much better than white, it is really just white sugar mixed with molasses to give it that brown look and sticky consistency.
Molasses is a byproduct of the pressing of sugarcane.
Coconut sugar is made from the juices of coconut palm blossoms. The plant's nectar is heated until it caramelizes, then is ground into a powder.
Raw honey is made from bees that have retrieved nectar from plants. The combination of their enzymes in their stomachs transforms the nectar into what we know as honey, which they spread around their hives to dry out.
Xylitol is a sugar alcohol, which means that it is very low on the glycemic index. Even though it is found in nature, it can still negatively affect your bowels if ingested in high quantities.
Stevia is a naturally-occurring sweetener taken from the Stevia rebaudiana plant, which is found mostly in South America. It is shown that Stevia is up to 300 times sweeter than normal sugar and has zero calories! Because of this combination, I recommend substituting Stevia for any type of sugar currently in your diet.
*For additional information and references visit www.sweettoothtruth.com