Published By: K.D Cameron

See all articles

Healthy sugar alternatives

You have certainly heard that refined sugar is harmful to health. If it is something new for you, you should probably change the channels and media through which you receive health news. Because so many studies supporting this statement have been published that it is as clear as day.

Refined sugar is harmful – it is harmful to the mind, weight, teeth… And this simple fact creates so many problems because sugar is present in most foods we eat every day. Just imagine – even wheat bread contains sugar! If you cannot do without bread, it’s good for you to eat black (rye) or wholegrain bread since it contains fibres and the glucose released in the body is not in such big quantity.

Many doctors advise us to avoid sugar the way we avoid cigarettes and alcohol. In other words, we should have in mind that sugar is as harmful and potentially dangerous to our health as cigarettes and alcohol. This, in turn, significantly heightens the interest in sugar-free diets. Yet we cannot do completely without sweet. But do we know what to substitute sugar for so that it won’t be harmful to our heath? We’ll help you right now. There are many good natural ingredients you can substitute sugar for so that both your food is sweet and your health is well protected.

Natural sugar substitutes

1. Honey

Honey is a good and easy substitute for sugar. You can make the replacement in the following ratios:

1 cup of sugar = 3/4 cup of honey

1 tablespoon of sugar = 3/4 tablespoon of honey

1 teaspoon of sugar = 3/4 teaspoon of honey

2. Stevia

Stevia is another wonderful sugar substitute. In fact, in scientific terms, stevia is described as a perennial plant belonging to the Asteraceae family, which includes over 240 types of herbs and shrubs. Otherwise the stevia most of us know as the natural sugar substitute is actually of the Stevia Rebaudiana species, commonly known as “sweetleaf”.

Here are the sugar-stevia substitution ratios you can use:

1 cup of sugar = 1 teaspoon of stevia

1 tablespoon of sugar = 1/8 teaspoon of stevia

1 teaspoon of sugar = a pinch of stevia

3. Xylitol

Xylitol is a natural sweetener because it is naturally occurring in nature in some plant species. It can be used to sweeten a number of products, including sweets.

How to replace sugar with xylitol:

1 cup of sugar = 3/8 cup of xylitol

1 tablespoon of sugar = 3/8 tablespoon of xylitol

1 teaspoon of sugar = 3/8 teaspoon of xylitol

4. Maple syrup

Maple syrup is also a natural sweetener made from pure maple sap. It is very rich in amino acids, potassium, calcium, magnesium and manganese. Here is the sugar-maple syrup substitution ratio:

1 cup of sugar = 3/4 cup of maple syrup

1 tablespoon of sugar = 3/4 tablespoon of maple syrup

1 teaspoon of sugar = 3/4 teaspoon of maple syrup