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Natural Sugar Alternatives - The Healthier Option
With the growing concern about diabetes and obesity, many people have been looking to sugar alternatives as one way to maintain diet while living a healthier lifestyle. Nearly everyone responds to the sweetness of sugar, but processed regular white sugar used in most of our foods is not good for you and presents a host of health risks. Even though refined sugars are not good for you, there are sugar alternatives so you can still enjoy eating.
Natural sugar is one choice much better for you than refined white sugar. This natural sugar can provide easy to digest energy when consumed in small amounts, benefiting your body. This type of sugar will cause your body to store fat if you eat too much. This is what we try to avoid, but in small doses provides a good alternative.
There are other sugar alternatives available as well, and some of them are better for you than others. First there are the artificial sweeteners like saccharine. This can be found in the Sweet and Low packets on the table in just about every restaurant in the country. This artificial sugar alternative is very sweet so you use a lot less to get the same level of sweetness than you would need with real sugar.
Sugar alternatives do have a downside; they might not be healthy for you. Many people believe that these sugar alternatives cause cancer, although this hasn't been scientifically proven. The biggest factor is they create an urge for more sugar. This does not make you eat healthier and avoid other sugars. Since these alternatives actually trick your body that it is consuming sugar, the empty calories still get stored as fat.
Another problem with artificial sweeteners is that they are not very good to cook with. They are alright for sweetening your coffee or iced tea, but they get a chemically taste is you use them to bake. That is why most people have a big bag of refined white sugar in their kitchens.
There are natural sugar alternatives you can adapt for baking and other sweetening needs. Honey, one of the oldest natural forms of sweetening, can be used for most needs. It is all natural, and good for you when used (like all other sweeteners) in moderation. When used during baking, it will thicken batters.
Honey also works in coffee and tea. Honey crystals are available that are dried, making them easy to use. Honey crystals are good to add over cereal or in beverages.
Another great choice is Agave. Also derived from a plant, it is a concentrated liquid sweetener. It usually comes in smaller bottles because it is sweet enough you only need a few drops to replace spoonfuls of sugar!
With all the natural sugar alternatives on your grocer's aisle, make sure you do your research. With so many options, you want to find the one that is right for your heart, health and weight. Make sure that you have the best natural sugar alternatives in your pantry.
About the Author To see recipes made using a natural sugar known as organic honey crystals then visit the Mama Healthy website to get one of the latest sugar alternatives out there.
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