- These three versatile sweetness are found in nature. They are healthy, and low in calories and fructose.
Intentionally limiting your intake of refined sugar can be tough, but given how incredibly harmful sugar can be, it’s definitely worth the effort. The good news is, that a few sweeteners found in nature are healthy. They’re low in calories, low in fructose, and taste great.
These three natural sweeteners could pose as healthier alternatives to refined sugar. Check them out:
- Honey
Honey is a natural sweetener with a truckload of benefits. Fortunately, it is widely available and affordable for most people. Honey can help treat respiratory infections, by relieving the symptoms and reducing cough severity. Honey can also be used as an antibiotic alternative. It may also prevent the hardening of the arteries, which is the main cause of death globally. You’ll be amazed to know that honey also enhances the treatment of metabolic disorders, supports the health of our gut, and provides antioxidants and nutrients. When choosing which honey to use, know that some bee colonies are treated with antibiotics. The efficacy will depend on how it was collected and produced.
- Dates
Dates are a fruit that contains sugar, fiber, antioxidants, and minerals like potassium, which help slowly absorb sugar and regulate it within the body. Dry or soft dates are eaten out-of-hand or may be pitted and stuffed with fillings such as almonds, walnuts, pecans, candied orange, lemon peel, or cream cheese. Pitted dates are also referred to as stoned dates. Partially dried pitted dates may be glazed with glucose syrup for use as a snack food. Dates can also be chopped and used in a range of sweet and savory dishes and desserts.
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- Stevia
Stevia is a very popular low-calorie sweetener and sugar substitute got from the leaves of the plant species Stevia rebaudiana. The active compounds are steviol glycosides, which have about 50 to 300 times the sweetness of sugar. They are heat-stable, pH-stable, and not fermentable. The human body does not metabolize the glycosides in stevia, so it contains zero calories as a non-nutritive sweetener. Stevia’s taste has a slower onset and longer duration than that of sugar, and at high concentrations, some of its extracts may have an aftertaste, described as licorice-like or bitter. Stevia is used in sugar- and calorie-reduced food and beverage products as an alternative for variants with sugar
There are other popular sugary sweeteners that health-conscious people often eat instead of sugar. They include coconut sugar, molasses, and maple syrup. While these may contain slightly smaller amounts of fructose and a tiny amount of nutrients, your body might not be able to tell the difference.
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