Comments on: Are Natural Sweeteners Good For You?

By: Douglas Wallace

Douglas Wallace — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 07:25:19 +0000

Love your site. It takes brains not to be afraid of fats. I started a food for health blog called http://www.gaiahelthblog.com and ran across your sit in my research on pancakes, I’ve been trying to find the real deal with Aguave. Anyhoo, for me, I don’t knowingly take in any sugar, I just started swapping out and using honey and stevia. when doing my Coconut Flour Banana bread, I used super ripe bananas and that all the sweetener I needed. Now I’m into Birch Tree Xylitol, taste better than stevia. But for be, it seemd my body just didn’t want all that sugar anymore, not that I had to force myself off it.

By: Nickole@savvyteasandherbs.com

Nickole@savvyteasandherbs.com — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 10:17:03 +0000

Great article! I think it is easy for people to go overboard even with natural sweeteners. We only use maple syrup, raw honey, and sucanat, but rarely. I am not a baker and we do not buy junk. Not having it in the house really helps! I think some people really miss that very easy step. Perhaps it is because their children are used to a diet loaded with sugar. Then fix that pronto! When I went gluten free, it helped with sugar and carb cravings tremendously. I had a gluten intolerance already that I knew of. I think a lot of people who crave sugar and carbs have an intolerance and perhaps trying gluten free would help. I was really shocked that my cravings went away almost instantly. I agree also that going cold turkey to help with sugar cravings will help. Your taste buds will begin to appreciate more natural flavors and before long, sugar will not satisfy. Ir is like retraining your taste buds. There are many things that are naturally sweetened that are just too sweet for us. Lara Bars for one thing! Just way too sweet. Also, eating protein alongside sweet things helps your body not experience the glucose spike. We eat nuts and dried fruit together for example. Specifically soaked and dried pecans with raisins. Oh that is sooo good! Also often when you have a sugar craving, your body is really wanting protein. I used to keep hard boiled eggs in the fridge for times like this. A little paprika a salt on one, and that really did help satisfy.

Nickole @ http://www.savvyteasandherbs.com

By: Diana

Diana — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 10:04:38 +0000

While scientifically I know all this to be true, I still find agave to be the sweetener that I tolerate best. Cane sugar is acompanied by a whole bevy of symptoms for me ranging from acne, to leg and foot cramps, to fibromyalgia, and many others. Also, I have a strong adddiction response to cane sugar. I avoid dairy and grains as well as sugar, and for me, this is the best. (I found giving up dairy that I lost 18 lbs in a very short time with no effort. Wish I could have it for all the great fat, but not for me.) However, when I do indulge in something sweet, which is more often than I would without kids, I find agave or yakon syrup far more tolerable (apparently for my kiddos too). Either can give me the not-so-nice feeling of eating sweets, but it is FAR less noticable than when I eat cane sugar (the absolute worst), honey, or maple syrup. I have no explanation. To be VERY clear, I think that no sweets is best, but I can’t argue with my personal experience and what my body tells me. Oh yeah, I am very thin, and when I do a lot of baking (and eating) for my boys, I closely monitor my weight and body fat to see how I am affected and I do not see any changes. However, I am still only consuming comparatively small amounts when considering the average SAD diet.
If I have one tsp of agave in a chai, for example, it can’t really be compared to the 10-12 tsp of sugar in a soda pop of the same size. I just wanted to put that out there in case anyone else has the same experience. I am not encourging anyone to eat sweets. Because they are BAD for your immune system, if for no other reason – and there ARE plenty of others!

By: Heather

Heather — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 13:12:20 +0000

A friend and I went on a diet trying to eliminate only sugar from our diet. We did NOT change anything else in our lifestyle. We both lost over 20 lbs in 2 months. And I have to say that we were not what you would call heavy sugar consumers. I have seen the effects of sugar on a very real level. This article to me is completely accurate.

If you don’t eat a lot of sugar to begin with, you will not notice much difference. I learned that, even though I do not eat as much as the average American today, I still eat too much. Thanks for this article!

By: April

April — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 19:20:31 +0000

I’m sorry, but I’ve got to ask one more thing about your Agave post. You mentioned that concentrated fructose does not occur naturally in fruit. Is juice concentrate unnaturally created? I use it, but is straight up juice(not made from concentrate) better? I know you would rather not have juice at all, but I’m highly interested about the process used to create juice concentrate.

By: April

April — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 19:14:08 +0000

Kristen, would you seek to even make bread without a sugar in it?

And, doesn’t the body need some sugar? Would zero sugar be healthy? I find it hard to believe that fruit, at least, is not very healthy.

By: April

April — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 19:10:12 +0000

Oh, also. If I must use sugar in a recipe, or at least some, would there be any tiny benefit to using fructose instead?

By: April

April — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 19:08:22 +0000

I understand that the post’s point is to avoid sugar all together. I agree with that intellectually, but I’m not ready or willing to make that committment. I do, for the most part only use honey as a sweetener. I appreciate the post on blue agave. I was wondering about that last night, when I noticed it in the organic section of my grocery store. I typed it in google, and found this site. I appreciate the info.

I would like someone to explain to me what to look for when buying the other natural sweeteners like sucanat, maple syrup, or palm sugar.

Also, is concentrated juice on the same level as honey or is it worse?

Lastly, what about blackstrap molasses? Is this worse than honey?

Thanks! I loved the post. The author has a level of discipline that I admire very much. Kristen, do you feel that you enjoy sugar as much as anyone, and did you grow up mindful of sugar?

By: Lisa

Lisa — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 19:56:48 +0000

Jlin, VEY! (a reply to your Oy),
Try Kombucha instead of CDGA. To me it tastes a lot like ginger ale (you can add a piece of ginger even). Although, I confess that it has been years since I have had CDGA, so I may not be a good judge. Kombucha also has vitamin b and digestive enzymes.
I fill two water bottles every morning, one with water and one with kombucha. I love both.

By: Jlin

Jlin — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 20:40:14 +0000

Erratum:

In my above post I said what helps me is to eat more brown sugar. NOT! I meant to write brown rice. Oy. Higher quality carbs with protein seems to help me reduce cravings, and eating salads with chickpeas, etc, helps me not to crave the bad stuff too.