Sweeteners

I've started doing quite a bit of research on sugar and sugar alternatives. My main motive was that I started noticing that my body reacts badly to sugar in the form of stomachaches and headaches. So I started looking for alternatives to use in my baking. I didn't even bother looking at artificial sweeteners, aspartame and sugar substitute gives me a headache and makes me feel like my body is trying to reject something. Also I generally do not believe something cooked up in a lab is a good idea to put into my body.

At the health food store I was recommended Stevia and Xylitol. I bought a bottle of spoonable Stevia, because it looked like it would be easier to use in baking. I made brownies with it and wouldn't you know it, my body instantly reacted. I'm wondering if it was because it was processed (No rocket science there, Stevia starts as a green leaf and what I bought was a fluffy white powder!) or there were additives.  I wasn't interested in Xylitol once I looked into it a bit, anything that has a tricky extraction process is the opposite of the direction I want to go!

The direction I DO want to go is toward anything that is a whole, natural food, especially one that has been used for centuries and is processed minimally. Here are the sweeteners you'll see in my recipes.

Honey

Did you know that urns of honey have been found in Greek ruins that are two thousand years old that had not spoiled? Bacteria cannot reproduce in honey! Knowing that honey has been around for that long makes me an automatic advocate!

Honey is a carbohydrate with natural sugars. It's natural sugars are glucose and fructose. Glucose is absorbed quickly into the bloodstream and fructose more slowly. Honey is absorbed more slowly into the bloodstream that refined sugar is. Honey is acidic and contains amylase's (enzymes that digest carbohydrates). From what I've read, RAW (unpasteurized) honey is very beneficial for us (in moderation of course!) and a delicious alternative to sugar! 

(*Please note that honey is not safe for children under the age of 1!)

Per 100g:   304 kcal

                    82g carbs

                    82g sugars

Maple Syrup

Maple syrup is boiled down sap from maple trees. The sugar it contains is sucrose (which is made from fructose and glucose). The sap starts out as 98% water and 2% sugar. After the boiling process it becomes maple syrup which is 33% water and 67% sugar. It is a source of minerals like manganese and zinc. It has 15x more calcium and 1/10 the sodium of honey.

While it has less calories than honey, it also has less nutritional benefit.

Per 100g: 261 kcal
                  67g carbs
                  59g sugars

Stevia

Stevia is 300x sweeter than sugar and has no effect on blood glucose making it safe for diabetics. It also has zero calories! This sounds like enough to throw all other sweeteners out the window but I'm not sold on the processed store-bought Stevia like I explained above. I am interested in trying it out Stevia extract that I make myself. I will post more about this when my plant is big enough to try it out!

Date Sugar

Date sugar is made of dried, ground up dates. (Very minimal processing!) It is high in fiber, vitamins and minerals. It does not dissolve in liquid which might prove tricky but  I believe it's worth giving it a shot! I will post more about this also when I'm able to do some more experimenting.

Molasses

Molasses is the waste in the production of sugar. It isn't very high on the sweetness scale, but it can add nice flavor to certain baking products. It is also high in minerals. 

                                                                                                                                                              

I have compiled this information from many websites and books. If you're wanting more information, go looking! Here are some places I found informative:

Nourshing Traditions by Sally Fallon
The Technology of Baking from NAIT
www.organiclifestylemagazine.com/healthy-sugar-alternative
www.maplesource.com
www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php