Sweet and Natural~Can it be ?

Some alternative sweeteners to consider with the Sweet Season coming up.

With adult and childhood obesity now at a national concern, parents and educators need to be on watch for processed sugars that are in almost everything we consider food, from cereal to condiments.

Refined sugar has no upside other than it flavor; it contains no fiber, no minerals, no proteins, no fats, no enzymes, and has a glycemic index (GI) of 65, which is high. GI measures how much your blood glucose increases after eating a particular food.

Below are a number of alternative sweeteners that offer so much more in nutritional value and most do no harm in moderation.

The first four are my choices and the ones I can say for certain are a healthy alternative.

1-Agave nectar---low glycemic index(15)it is 92% fructose and 5% glucose. Contains more calories per teaspoon than refined sugar-20 to sugars 15.

2-Stevia---0 calories and no impact on insulin levels. 70 times sweeter than sugar.

3-Brown Rice syrup---low GI of (25) 50% complex carbs and 5% glucose. Same calories as sugar but only half as sweet.

4-Raw Honey---The typical chemical components of honey are as follows: fructose: 38%, glucose 31%, sucrose 1%, water
17%, other sugars including maltose and melezitose 9%, ash .17%( info taken from Dina Giolitto's research, read it in full here. http://www.wordfeeder.com/HoneyQ&A.pdf

5-Palm sugar---GI of (35) same calories as sugar.

6-Xylitol---doesn't metabolize as sugar, has no effect on insulin levels. Has 9 calories per teaspoon, supposedly is a plus for bone health. Toxic for dogs.

7-Date sugar---minimally refined and processed. Rich in minerals, plus 1 gram of fiber per tablespoon.12 calories per teaspoon. But...because drying concentrates sucrose, it strongly impacts blood sugar.

Small changes bring large results in our diets...

Happy Holidays~

Bea Kunz