Alternative sweetening? For some time now, it has been totally “in” to sweeten alternatively. And that doesn’t just come from anywhere. Refined granulated sugar – also known as industrial sugar – is processed in elaborate processes. The result: all valuable nutrients are gone and what’s left are “empty” calories. In addition, industrially processed sugar causes blood sugar levels to rise very high very quickly, which is detrimental to our body’s health in the long term. That’s why more and more people are finding themselves willing to sweeten alternatively. For this reason, today we want to introduce you to a list of alternative sweeteners in our post ” Alternative Sweetening “. *
- Sweet foods: Bananas or dried fruits such as dates or apricots naturally bring a sweet taste. The advantage of sweet foods is that they bring not only important nutrients such as minerals and vitamins, but also fiber.
- Birch sugar (xylitol) and erythritol: These are so-called sugar alcohols. Xylitol has 40% fewer calories compared to industrial sugar, erythritol is even completely free of calories. However, these two sugar alternatives also do not bring any additional nutrients.
- Stevia: Originally derived from the stevia plant, the sweetener stevia, as we can buy it in the supermarket, is however produced in industrial processes by adding chemical products. Even though stevia sweeteners are also calorie-free, there is a maximum value here that must not be exceeded when consumed due to industrial processing.
- Coconut blossom sugar: In the production of coconut blossom sugar, the nectar of the coconut palm is boiled and evaporated to produce the crystalline sugar. Compared to refined sugar, the increase in blood sugar levels after consuming coconut blossom sugar is lower and it brings at least a few more nutrients.
- Date sugar: Although the whole dates have already been mentioned as food, for the sake of completeness we would like to mention date sugar as well. Date sugar (also called date sweetener) are dried and crushed dates. The advantage is that date sugar has fewer calories than coconut blossom or industrial sugar. In addition, date sugar contains valuable minerals and vitamins, as well as fiber. Date sugar is also good for baking and cooking.
- Apple or agave syrup: Thick juices are basically highly concentrated fruit juices. These sweeteners also lose important nutrients in their industrial production. While thick juices are incredibly sweet, they should only be enjoyed in moderation due to their very, very high fructose content.
- Syrups (rice, maple or date syrup): Similar to thick juices, syrups are made by boiling down plant foods. Even though syrups have a few more nutrients than industrial sugar, the same applies here: Syrups should be enjoyed with moderation and caution because of the high fructose content.
Alternative sweetening is basically not that difficult – you just have to find the right sweetener. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Today we have presented you those that we have tried so far. Maybe you know other ways to sweeten alternatively? Please feel free to share with us any experiences you have already made on the subject of “alternative sweetening” – we look forward to hearing from you!
P.S. Do you already know our contribution to wholefood nutrition?
*This article is intended only as a possible source of information and does not offer specific dietary recommendations.
That was: Alternative sweets
