Sweeter Than Sugar

Our bodies are our gardens – our wills are our gardeners.
– William Shakespeare

Thrive! Presents practices that can improve life. This post explores sugar and sweet alternatives.

Six thousand years ago, the sugar cane plant’s juices were first extracted in India and Southeast Asia. Four thousand years later, sugar granules were produced. In time, they were refined into crystals. Cane growth and sugar manufacture then spread throughout the early Islamic world. Later, to the West Indies and tropical Americas, along with enslaved Africans.

Until the 1500s, sugar was rare and expensive. When technology allowed cheaper production, more people could buy those sweets. In 2014, JAMA Internal Medicine reported adult men eat an average, added 24 teaspoons of sugar daily. Dr. Frank Hu, professor of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health continued, “Excess sugar’s impact on obesity and diabetes is well documented, but one area that may surprise many men is how their taste for sugar can [cause] a greater risk of dying from heart disease.

Of non-sugar sweeteners, one concern is their potential negative impact on the gut microbiome. This is a distinct ecosystem inside intestines. Its trillions of microscopic organisms include over a thousand species of bacteria, as well as viruses, fungi and parasites that help the body. Read more.

According to Dr. Axe’s “12 Best Sugar Substitutes,” side effects from artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose, ace-K and saccharin have been linked to,” headaches and poor digestion to cravings and even mood disorders.”

Are there healthy sugar substitutes?  Dr. Axe reports, “Some experts like fruit the best because there are no empty calories involved and the sugars are naturally occurring.” Here are some popular, natural sweeteners listed by Dr. that Axe,

• Stevia (0 calories)
• Dates (1 Medjool date = 66 calories)
• Coconut sugar (1 tablespoon = 45 calories)
• Banana puree (1 cup = 200 calories)
• Monk fruit (0 calories)

Manufacturers are now  developing new ingredients that can sweeten foods and beverages without adding calories or chemicals. Sweet proteins are naturally-occurring compounds in some tropical plants and berries native to West Africa and Southeast Asia.

Unlike conventional sweeteners [which are typically sugars or artificial compounds], sweet proteins are amino acids. Their names include thaumatin, brazzein, monellin, curculin, and miraculin. They are 400 to 3,000 times sweetener than sucrose [table sugar]. The better-known stevia and monkfruit are 200-300 times as sweet as sucrose. Because sweet proteins are metabolized differently from sugars, they do not raise blood sugar levels. Plus, their intense sweetness means eating fewer calories.

To be used in US food products, any new ingredient must receive GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status from the FDA. While thaumatin has been approved, ongoing studies are testing safety and usefulness of more sweet proteins.

Recipes

Sugar Free Recipes    340+ trusted sugar-free recipes from appetizers to main dishes to desserts [includes cookies, cakes, cobblers].

• 12 Best Sugar Substitutes
• Are Sweet Proteins the New Stevia? 
• History of Sugar 
• Sweet Danger of Sugar

See These Videos

• Sugar Alternatives, 04:37  [Yes, sugar can cause health problems. But there’s another, hidden dietary culprit.]
• If You Quit Sugar for 30 Days, 6 Healthy Alternatives, 03:52
• The HEALTHIEST Sugar-Free Sweeteners at the Grocery Store, 13:29,

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Sandra Gould Ford
Presenting arts experiences to encourage, refresh, enrich creative thinking and inspire.